Publication Details
Hands, B. P.
(2012).
How fundamental are fundamental movement skills?.
Active and Healthy Magazine, 19 (1), 14-17.
Abstract
If you take the time to observe children playing in a playground you will notice some whose movements are fluid and graceful, who clearly experience the joy of successful movement and feel confident in their actions. Look further and you may notice some less confident children who may be hovering on the sidelines, causing fights with their peers, sitting quietly by themselves on the verandah or even hidden away in the library reading a book. These children find participation in playground games and many other physical activities challenging, tiring and even embarrassing. They are worried they will miss a ball thrown to them in a game of keep-off or fall over in a game of chasey. Nobody wants them on their team. For these children, the opportunity to feel the intrinsic enjoyment of successful movement is denied. Their inadequacy is very public and subsequently humiliating – this is much worse than the experience of the child who is yet to master math or reading. Their inadequacy is more easily concealed in a classroom
Keywords
fundamental movement skills, children
