Nursery World - Learning & Development: Physical Development

New Zealand-based child development expert Gill Connell speaks to
Anne O'Connor about the importance of a healthy 'movement diet' in young
children's development and warns against its apparent neglect.

One of the many interesting findings of the TACTYC report 'Two Year Olds in England: an exploratory study' (Georgeson et al, 2014) is that of the 195 responses, only 19 per cent selected the prime area of movement and physical development as a key dimension of quality. This is despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of physical play (both indoor and out) and a growing concern that children's motor development when they arrive at school is underdeveloped.

As an early years consultant and trainer with a particular interest in all three prime areas, I continue to be surprised and concerned that physical development (PD) seems to be the Cinderella of the prime areas. There has been much debate as to which is the more 'prime of the primes' - is Communication and Language (CL) more fundamental to the human condition (and learning) than Personal Social and Emotional Development (PSED)? However, you do have to wonder where we would be without a body in which to house all this talking, thinking and feeling.

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