Arenewed focus on children’s health and well-being is one of the few positives to have emerged from the initial lockdown period. But how closely have you observed the impact of lockdown on children’s physical development? And how should you be responding to your observations? To find out more, I asked eight settings about their observations of children’s physical skills following the first 2020 lockdown. Their responses provide an interesting insight into what to look out for and how to respond.
OUTDOORS AND ACTIVE: THE BENEFITS
Considering the benefits of physical activity can help focus our attention on what children may have missed out on during the first lockdown.
Being physically able enough to join in, keep up and contribute to movement play is profoundly important to children. With physical competence comes confidence and emotional equilibrium. Movement play provides the optimum framework within which friendships are created and sustained, interests stimulated and extended, new skills acquired and refined, and where language may be practised in a relevant and meaningful context.
We know that being outdoors and active positively affects:
- the stimulation of serotonin – a vitally important neurotransmitter that helps children stay alert, active and able to remember. Dopamine is also produced when children move – activating the ‘pleasure response’ that then inspires them to keep moving
- exposure to Vitamin D in sunlight, which supports the immune system and captures dietary calcium from blood to bone structure
- the proprioceptive (body sense, control and management in space), vestibular (balance and equilibrium) and interoceptive (internal body awareness) systems, which all require movement experience to ensure their continual refreshment and development – and play a significant role in supporting all domains of learning
- visual skills – being outside and active enables eyes to switch at speed from near to far vision, the iris learns to adapt between dark and light spaces, and the eye muscles can practise changing from fine eye movements to holding a steady gaze
- listening skills – being able to filter out sound qualities and make sense of a 3D soundscape is supported by being active and outdoors.
THE PHYSICAL IMPACT OF LOCKDOWN
The eight settings that contributed their observations include both state maintained and private, and are located in areas of both deprivation and affluence. You will see how their responses reflect their environment and demographics.
Activity levels
We know that many children did not experience anywhere near the recommended daily amount of physical activity (180 minutes over the course of a day) – particularly those living in densely populated urban areas – but some were noticeably luckier than others:
- ‘It seems our toddlers and pre-schoolers were kept very active during lockdown – most families were taking their daily walk and lots were participating in physical activity at home, such as yoga.’
- ‘Some of our children spent a considerable amount of time in the country – so, of course, this was beneficial for their PD!’
- ‘The feedback and photos I had from parents is they keenly accessed local green spaces for walks and nature collections – and the majority have gardens with a paddling pool and a football at least. I have some families living in a homeless hostel with no outdoor space, and this has been more difficult.’
- ‘The Joe Wicks workouts have been very popular with our families over lockdown – the children returned to nursery and taught us some of their favourite moves.’
- ‘Parents have been very anxious about letting their children outdoors – most live in flats in central town and have no access to a garden – but they have tried to create safe spaces at home for children to climb and jump.’
- ‘Fifty per cent of my parents live in flats with no garden, so it was really hard for them. I know most of our children weren’t going out at all for a large chunk of it, even though the Government said we could exercise at that time.’
Practitioner support
How did you support children’s PD during lockdown?
- ‘Through our own home-learning programme, we made age-specific daily physical activity suggestions which included ideas such as using furniture to create an obstacle course or fun physical games such as pillow sack races.’
- ‘We created simple activity packs for our families and dropped them off at their homes – we put some small balls, paper plates and a range of small items in a paper bag – and gave lots of suggestions of what they could do to be really active physically.’
- ‘Throughout lockdown, I sent through links every few weeks to our children that tried to highlight creative play using their bodies.’
First impressions
What did you notice about children’s PD post-lockdown?
- ‘The thing that really sticks with us is how much stamina levels among our children have dropped since they have returned. Both new and returning children just seem so tired all the time – they are yawning from the moment they arrive. I think for some children they have had no sleep routines for months, and for some parents a bedtime routine appears to be something they don’t really do. Their appetites are so good though! We are going through lots of fresh fruit, cornflakes and milk, but hot lunches are not so popular.’
- ‘Children’s skills using scooters, bikes and trikes showed great signs of improvement having spent increased time at home pursuing these activities. Some children have struggled more with mealtimes, in particular sitting on a nursery chair when they may have been strapped in a high-chair.’
- ‘I am noticing more children than usual are lacking the ability to run, jump and climb. Poor balance, knees not bending, being timid and fearful. More children than usual are playing in isolation, lots are needing support to interact with others, and they just seem very anxious.’
- ‘The children are definitely gravitating towards physically challenging activities – climbing, running – and enjoying bikes and scooters.’
- ‘The children have come back confident and keen to play and interact with one another – new friendships are forming.’
- ‘All children this term are certainly keen to run, jump and be free in open spaces.’
- ‘It’s poignant to observe the extent to which young bodies crave the need for physical expression – running and moving after such a long time of inactivity.’
- ‘Children are arriving excited and delighted to be here – their desire to play outweighs everything else. Lots don’t want to leave.’
Changes in skills
What changes in particular physical skills did you notice in the children?
Feeding themselves
- ‘Some are showing less confidence in using cutlery independently. This may be due to losing the peer learning that happens at mealtimes, and having more support with feeding at home. Parents have reported disrupted sleep routines, increased night waking and early rising.’
- ‘Some who could feed themselves independently before are requesting to be fed by the teacher. Some have found getting back into the routine of sitting around a table for mealtimes a little difficult.’
Spatial awareness
- ‘There has been the occasional collision, so we’ve had to give reminders about personal space – particularly with only children.’
- ‘One of the most notable regressions among our children has been in their proprioception or sense of spatial awareness. The children have often walked into each other when navigating between areas of our environment – especially if they get distracted by something.’
- ‘They are a bit clumsy – a few more trips than usual are happening.’
General development
Toilet training: ‘Some parents have toilet-trained, taking advantage of the additional time at home.’
Concentration: ‘I am really noticing how concentration is very much an active rather than a passive thing.’
Motivation: ‘Some children are really motivated to get on the pedal bikes and ride around independently.’
Language development: ‘We are observing that in “all going well” families, children have made significant progress in clarity of sounds, and not in others from more hectic backgrounds.’
Voices: ‘Some children shout all the time because that’s what they’ve been used to; others are still fearful of talking normally and barely whisper.’
Mark-making: ‘We’ve seen a slight reduction in the instinct to mark-make – paint or charcoal.’
Understanding rules: ‘I’m noticing that what is happening in real life is happening in their play, especially around rules: who makes them, who is “allowed” to do what, what is fair and unfair.’
Digital technology:‘Some children have talked a lot about playing on tablets and requesting them at nursery. We have encouraged them to explore with playdough and other sensory materials, and have had a very positive response.’
IN RESPONSE
When asked how they had adapted their practice, all the practitioners responded positively to children’s ‘foundationally critical’ need to move.
- ‘We now build lots of our day around being outside, as many of our children don’t have access to gardens.’
- ‘We have used a more physical-led approach to learning and play since our return, spending plenty of time outside and using movement and drama – just moving – to engage and teach!’
- ‘Both boys and girls are quite obviously happy to see their friends and play, so much so we have suspended adult-focused activities for another week. We are out and continuously planning for additional physical challenges.’
- ‘We are doing a lot of outdoor games and songs – lots of additional environmental planning that includes wobble-boards, balance beams, tyres, planks, large boulders to roll, tree stumps…digging, growing and planting.’
- ‘Their energy levels are so high we are using the outdoor area a lot more than usual to allow them the opportunity to use their built-up energy in a positive way.’
- ‘We’ve been using the “fire pit” to anchor our circle times outside – we’ve been marching around and using sticks to set a beat, we’ve been doing sequences of movements as we circle in this way as we pretend we’re going down to the shop and alter our movements in response to what we encounter.’
CONCLUSION
The range of responses reflects the different environments in which the practitioners live and work. Children’s experience of the first 2020 lockdown varied widely, but all have been pleased to return to their settings, with no major issues being reported about their physical development.
It is interesting that the children immediately started practising the ‘big body movements’ that are so essential to refreshing the body senses and systems that depend on continual body movement for optimum functionality – they seem to know instinctively what their bodies need!
Top tips for rebuilding physical skills
It may take time for some children to regain the physical competencies that underpin and support their development, but all children now need to rediscover their joy in movement – to engage confidently in movement play with friends, to instigate projects, to investigate different environments and to practise their skills.
Children’s language use may also have been adversely affected, particularly for children who may have missed speech and language therapy sessions or are ‘new to English’. So, it is even more important that movement play is afforded the time and space needed to support new friendships and opportunities to communicate.
This is a time of physical recovery for everyone, so approach it gently and provide a range of daily physical opportunities that consolidate and extend skills. For example:
- Use music, rhythm and rhyme whenever possible to move with the children as a group. Add some ‘big’ actions to your ‘hello’, ‘tidying up’ and ‘goodbye’ songs – for example, claps, jumps, balancing, stretches. Change the tempo, so children can move very fast or slow, and let them make up their own lyrics and movements.
- Sit down as little as possible throughout the day. Think of other positions the children could use when listening to a story – for example, lying on their backs or tummies, kneeling and squatting. Encourage them to change position often and use the floor as much as possible.
- Think of highly physical ways in which children can transition from one activity to another, or from inside to outside – for example, put stickers on the floor to tiptoe on; hang a balloon from the ceiling and ask the children to jump and tap it; or make a tunnel out of chairs and a sheet to crawl through.
More specifically
Spatial awareness:Provide many and varied opportunities inside and outdoors for children to navigate around obstacles – for example, getting into and out of boxes or suitcases and squeezing into small spaces. Be aware some children may be anxious about social distancing and getting too close to anyone, so treat with sensitivity.
Overall strength:This needs time and continual opportunities for children to recover previous levels. Provide opportunities for digging, filling, pushing, pulling, carrying and lifting for the upper body; running, jumping, pedalling and going up and down stairs or slopes for the lower body; and lots of balancing activities for core strength.
Balance: Have the children take off their shoes as often as possible. Some children may be wearing the wrong size shoes – or wellies – and will need to rediscover their true balance and regain the strength and flexibility in the feet that supports fluent locomotion.
Co-ordination: Think of activities you can do with balls. Indoors, you can use small paper balls or a beach ball to pass and pat around the floor with both hands; outside use larger balls to throw, kick and aim.
Collaboration: Try also to provide lots of options for children to collaborate, negotiate and make decisions, and ensure everyone can be included in physical activities whenever and wherever possible – and that includes us!
WITH THANKS
Thank you to all the settings for their time and help with this article
Dr Lala Manners is a physical development trainer and director of Active Matters
