Supporting Physical Literacy
| Infancy: supporting rudimentary motor skill development |
| Grasping (3–4 mo) |
| Offer toys to support hand-eye coordination |
| Roll over (4–6 mo) |
| Tummy time to build core strength |
| Sitting (6 mo) |
| Tummy time to increase strength and coordination |
| Crawling (7–10 mo) |
| Place toys to help build strength and balance |
| Cruising (9 mo) |
| Offer a safe environment to explore which increases strength and balance |
| Walking (12 mo) |
| Create a safe environment to explore which improves balance and coordination |
| Toddler or preschool age: support development of fundamental skills |
| Encourage fun and socialization, incorporating activities preferred by the child, family walks, and chores (picking up, retrieving items, helping clean) |
| Running (by 2 y) |
| Play chase, visit parks, and offer a safe environment to practice |
| Throwing (2 y) |
| Play catch with easy-to-grasp foam or fabric balls |
| Catching (2+ y) |
| Create a “basket” with arms to catch |
| Kicking (2 y) |
| Play soccer with light, foam balls |
| Swimming (1–4 y) |
| Enroll in swimming lessons |
| Skating (4 y) |
| Elementary school age: improve fundamental skills and develop self-efficacy |
| Encourage fun and socialization, incorporating fitness preferences (such as dance, yoga, running, hiking, sports), active transportation (walking, cycling to school and activities), and chores (walking the dog) |
| Running |
| Build fitness and skills with tag, introduce sports like soccer by age 6 |
| Throwing and catching |
| Falling and tumbling |
| Helps decrease injury by learning to tuck head, knees, and arms |
| Hopping and jumping |
| Hopscotch and jump rope |
| Cycling |
| Teach a child to ride a bike |
| Striking sports |
| Practice at home with a plastic ball and bat, hockey stick, etc; introduce sports programs |
| Dribbling sports |
| Fine motor skills develop through practice and repetition |
| Gymnastics |
| One of the best activities for agility, balance, coordination, strength, and flexibility |
| Skiing |
| Low center of gravity makes it easier; it helps with balance |
| Preadolescence and adolescence: honing physical literacy |
| Encourage fun and socialization, incorporating fitness preferences (such as dance, yoga, running, hiking, sports), active transportation (walking, cycling to school and activities), and chores (walking the dog) |
| Identify gaps in fundamental movement skills development, confidence, or desire to be active and devise a plan to remedy (eg, motivational interviewing, physical therapy, community program) |
| Introduce skill development and strategy through coaching and camps |
| Introduce more complex sports that incorporate multidirectional movement and attention (eg, sports with equipment and strategy and/or plays) |
| Introduce resistance training with supervision and instruction on proper technique |
| Avoid sports specialization until mid-to-late teenaged years |
Data are from references 16, 76, 83–85, 89, and 90.