Let’s Get Physical! How Movement Helps Young Children Thrive - post

Running, jumping, climbing, dancing, and throwing a ball do much more than strengthen children’s muscles. Physical activity also supports coordination, confidence, attention, emotional regulation, social development, and healthy lifelong habits. ChildCareEd’s self-paced Wellness in Action: Teaching Healthy Habits to Children Buy Now $55.00 course gives educators practical strategies for planning structured and unstructured movement, encouraging active play, and reducing sedentary time. 

According to early childhood research by ACT Health, some common benefits of regular physical activity for children are:

• Healthy growth and development
• Reducing the risk of diabetes, obesity, and some cancers later in life
• Building strong hearts, muscles, and bones
• Learning fundamental movements and skills
• Improved balance, coordination, and reaction time
• Increased well being
• Improved social skills, self-esteem, and confidence.

How much physical activity do children need each day?

Current early childhood guidance recommends roughly three hours of total physical activity distributed across the day for children in early childhood settings, including free play, structured movement, and short energetic bursts. That total should include multiple shorter sessions rather than a single long block so children sustain attention and avoid fatigue.

Translate that guidance into program practice by using short, predictable movement windows: for example, two or three 5–10 minute high-energy bursts (to develop cardiovascular and locomotor skills), several 10–20 minute mixed-intensity free-play periods (to practice balance, bilateral coordination, and manipulative skills), and repeated low-intensity exploration (tummy time for infants, manipulative centers for toddlers). Sample daily distribution for a mixed-age classroom might include 10 minutes of arrival movement (simple group warm-up), two 15–20 minute outdoor or gross-motor center sessions, and several 5–7 minute transition activities that reinforce motor patterns and keep children regulated. For adaptations, pacing, and classroom schedules that preserve learning goals while meeting activity targets, see ChildCareEd's practical planner in Get Moving: How Can Child Care Programs Build Physical Activity Into the Daily Routine?. Be prepared to individualize intensity and duration for children with motor delays or medical needs—use observation-based progress notes and consult families so activities are inclusive and scaffolded.

How can child care programs build active play into the daily routine?

Integrating movement does not require large amounts of equipment—it requires planning and predictable opportunities. Practical steps include:

1. Designate multiple active-play windows (e.g., transition-time bursts, outdoor periods, and choice-based movement centers).
2. Use short, mixed-intensity activities: 5–10 minute gross-motor warm-ups, guided games, and free-choice periods for exploration.
3. Rotate provocations that challenge balance, throwing/catching, and bilateral coordination to stimulate skill acquisition.
4. Embed movement into learning (alphabet hopping, counting jogs) to support cross-domain learning.
5. Plan outdoor and indoor adaptations so activity continues during inclement weather (see Gross motor skills: indoors and outdoors).
6. Track and communicate progress with families using brief home-activity ideas and simple checklists.
7. Use safe, developmentally appropriate equipment and ensure active supervision protocols are in place.
8. Provide staff training and duty rotations so supervisors can scaffold and join active play effectively (see How can child care programs boost physical activity).

What are sample activities by age?

Offer simple, differentiated activities so each age group practices appropriate skills and experiences success.

• Infants (0–12 months): Tummy time variations, supported reaches, rolling and reaching games that encourage head control and bilateral movement.
• Young toddlers (12–24 months): Push–pull toys, safe obstacle paths, and guided chasing games that support balance and coordination.
• Older toddlers/preschoolers (2–5 years): Throw-and-catch progressions, parachute play, hopscotch, and simple team games that build locomotor and manipulative skills (see Gross Motor Games for Preschool and Kindergarten).
• Pre-kindergarten to school age: Skill-based circuits, cooperative games, and small-sided sports that emphasize rules, turn-taking, and strategy.

How can we engage families and document outcomes?

Share short home-activity cards, highlight movement during drop-off or pick-up conversations, and send occasional video clips (with permission) of class activities. ChildCareEd's Wellness in Action Buy Now $55.00 course provides family-facing nutrition and activity strategies you can adapt for newsletters.

What about safety and supervision?

Ensure active supervision, age-appropriate surfacing, and routine equipment checks. For program-level policies and premises guidance, consult ChildCareEd's safety course Building and Physical Premises Safety (Nevada) Buy Now $7.00 or the general Building and Physical Premises Safety course for applicable state guidance. If your program operates in New York, follow OCFS licensing requirements for supervision, ratios, group size, and health-and-safety plans—these rules directly affect how many children may participate in active play at once, required staff positioning during transitions, and documentation after incidents. See our state-specific guide How do New York day care supervision and ratio rules keep children safe? for a concise summary and links to OCFS resources. Before planning large-group gross-motor activities, confirm your program's licensed capacity for outdoor and indoor play, and document accommodations for children with mobility limits or medical needs.

Why is the article titled "Let’s Get Physical!"?

The phrase is a cultural idiom tied to popular usage; for background on the cultural reference to the song and its association with exercise-language in popular culture, see the New York Times piece linked here: The Lycra Legacy of Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Physical’ (NYTimes). This external reference is included only for title/context and does not change the article's practical guidance.

Summary — What should educators do tomorrow?

Prioritize multiple short active-play windows, select developmentally appropriate activities, engage families with simple home strategies, and use staff training to ensure activities are safe and scaffold learning. For immediate implementation, pick two classroom-friendly activities from the sample lists above and schedule them into tomorrow’s routine. For full lesson sequences and family handouts, enroll in ChildCareEd courses linked above.

Share these resources with families and colleagues — #physicalactivity #grossmotor #play #development #wellness

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