Nursery World - Learning & Development: Physical Development Part 1

Freedom of movement is essential for children's developing minds and emotions as well as their bodies, say Anne O'Connor and Anna Daly.

In her book The Well Balanced Child, Sally Goddard Blythe comments on the changes in society that have led to physical exercise becoming a 'task' rather than an everyday experience. She reminds us, however, that 'physical experience is the very expression of life. Just as the brain controls the body, the body has much to teach the brain'.

It is through movement that we first express our experience of the world, even before birth. A baby in the womb is already using their repeated acrobatic movements to strengthen the pathways linking the brain to the body and forming the millions of connections needed to build the nervous system. Movement is integral to life and a child's movement experience is likely to play a big part in shaping their physical development, personality, feelings and achievements.

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