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Physical & Motor Development
Gross Motor Development
WiseTip: PM-GMO-M2436-E01D

Provide ride-on toys so your child can learn to pedal and use other motor skills.

24-36 months
Environment
WHY IT MATTERS

Outdoor play, including children’s activities that build resilience through considered risk, leads to more creativity in pretend play, more productive problem-solving, and overall increased competence across developmental domains.

1
  1. Emery, M. K. (2017). Risk-taking, pretend play, and resilience in early childhood. Texas Child Care Quarterly, 41(1). Retrieved from https://childcarequarterly.com/pdf/summer17_resilience.pdf

Children need opportunities to do things that are exciting and adventurous. Creating a sense of risk and challenge in a safe environment is essential.

2
  1. Spencer, K., & Wright, P. (2014). Toddlers and Preschool: Quality Outdoor Play Spaces for Young Children. YC Young Children, 69(5), 28-35. Retrieved February 23, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/ycyoungchildren.69.5.28

Adding portable equipment to play spaces promotes greater physical activity for young children than traditional anchored equipment alone.

3
  1. Brown, W. H., Pfeiffer, K. A., McIver, K. L., Dowda, M., Addy, C. L., & Pate, R. R. (2009). Social and environmental factors associated with preschoolers’ nonsedentary physical activity. Child Development, 80(1), 45–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01245.x

A study revealed how resilience and wellbeing can be supported through outdoor environments.

4
  1. Bateman, A. & Waters, J. (2018) Risk-taking in the New Zealand Bush: issues of resilience and wellbeing. Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education, 12 (2). pp. 7-29. Retrieved from http://www.pecerajournal.com/?page=5&a=382246
When the adults shape the permissive space, children can act
5
  1. Waters, J. (2017). Affordance theory. In T. Waller, E. Ärlemalm-Hagsér, E. B. H. Sandseter, L. Lee-Hammond, K. Lekies, & S. Wyver (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of outdoor play and learning, pp. 40-54. London: Sage.
 in ways that align with how they perceive the space.
6
  1. Kyttä, M. (2004). The extent of children's independent mobility and the number of actualized affordances as criteria for child-friendly environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24(2), 179-198. doi:10.1016/S0272-4944(03)00073-2