Meeting 24-hour movement behavior guidelines in young children: Improved quantity estimation and self-regulation

Abstract

Research findings: The present study examined the associations among meeting 24-hour movement behavior recommendations set by the World Health Organization (2019) and young children's self-regulation and quantity estimation skills in a sample of 123 children (n = 65 female; 4.9 ± 0.7 years) in mid-Michigan.Meeting screen time recommendations alone, meeting physical activity recommendations in combination with either sleep or screen time recommendations, meeting more recommendations overall, and being active more days weekly were associated with superior quantity estimation. Meeting more guidelines and accruing more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily related to better self-regulation. Improvements in self-regulation partially mediated the relation between physical activity and quantity estimation.Practice or policy: Our findings identify benefits for adopting specific physical activity guidelines for children (e.g., physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration) and integrating these into early learning standards so both families and schools can support children's capacity to meet 24-hr movement guidelines and thus support cognitive health. An active lifestyle in early childhood may support young children's self-regulation and early educational outcomes, with physical activity promotion efforts during early childhood serving as a viable means to address growing expulsion rates in preschool-aged children. MOVEMENT BEHAVIORS AND SELF-REGULATION IN PRESCHOOLERS 3Meeting 24-hour movement behavior guidelines in young children: Improved quantity estimation and self-regulationChildren who exhibit challenging behaviors, including low self-regulation, inattention, and lack of inhibitory control, may miss out on learning opportunities (Cole et al., 2008;. For older children, evidence exists that physical activity enhances self-regulatory skills, including attention and inhibitory control (de Greeff et al., 2018), as well as academic achievement particularly in areas such as mathematics (Chaddock-Heyman et al., 2015;Correa-Burrows et al., 2014;Donnelly et al., 2009; Resaland et al., 2016). However, the relations between these skills with physical activity are underspecified for young children (Becker et al., 2014) who are rapidly developing early self-regulation and components of early numeracy, such as quantity estimation. Thus, there is a pressing need to understand what role physical activity plays in influencing young children's self-regulation and early academic achievement. Understanding such relations may help inform the design of classroom-based activity-promoting interventions to support teachers in addressing challenging behaviors-thereby enhancing educational and socio-emotional outcomes during the early years. Movement Across the Whole Day MattersPhysical activity is defined as all bodily movement requiring energy expenditure, including movement during leisure time (e.g., active play), for transport or getting to places (e.g., biking to school), or as part of a person's job (e.g., carrying blocks...

Prevalence of meeting 24-Hour Movement Guidelines from pre-school to adolescence: A systematic review and meta-analysis including 387,437 participants and 23 countries

“…A total of 387,437 participants (49% of boys and 51% of girls) aged 3–18 years were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis, of which 11,768 were preschoolers (3–5 years; 3%), 76,928 (6–12 years; 20%) were children, and 298,741 (13–18 years; 77%) were adolescents. Twenty-six studies were conducted with preschoolers only, 8 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 13 studies with children only, 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 17 studies with adolescents only, 11 , 12 , 60 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 and 7 studies with both children and adolescents. 9 , 10 , 76 , 77 ...…”

“…Regarding the measurement of the 3 components of the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, physical activity was obtained by device-based measures in 37 studies, 8 , 9 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 46 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 59 , 64 , 65 , 73 , 76 , 78 , 81 self-reported measures in 22 studies, 10 , 11 , 12 , 50 , 57 , 58 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 74 , 75 , 77 , 79 , 80 and parent-reported measures in 4 studies. 32 , 45 , ...…”

“… 32 , 45 , 48 , 56 Screen time was self-reported in 35 studies, 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 and were parent-reported in 28 studies. 8 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 52 , ...…”

Infusing Physical Activity into Early Childhood Classrooms: Guidance for Best Practices

“…Organizing the classroom schedule with a balance of sedentary and varied intensities of activity across the school day can facilitate young children's learning. Because short bouts (~10 mins) of vigorous "huff and puff" intensity activities can support children's attention and self-regulation (McGowan et al, 2020(McGowan et al, , 2021aMcGowan, Gerde, et al, 2022), teachers may consider planning vigorous movement opportunities to precede times of more sedentary lessons. For example, teachers might engage children in a vigorous music and dancing experience prior to sitting for their morning meeting, play a game in which children jump when they hear rhyming words to a poem before sitting for book reading, and engage in small group instruction after children have returned from outdoor play or the gymnasium.…”

Partnering with Families to Use Screen Time for Supporting Early Language and Literacy

“…Since the pandemic, children's screen time with non‐educational content has dramatically increased as schools and extra‐curricular opportunities have moved online (Moore et al, 2020). A national study conducted in Canada identified that 83.5% of children exceed the national recommendations for screen time (Moore et al, 2020); in the United States, recent research found 75.6% of 4‐year‐olds exceeded screen time recommendations (McGowan et al, 2022). Half of the families surveyed by the Parents Together Foundation (2020) reported their child spends more than 6 hours with screens each day, primarily engaged in non‐educational e‐activities.…”