Key Factors That Shape Physical and Motor Growth

Every child grows and moves differently – and that’s not just a matter of chance. Whether a child learns to skip, catch a ball, or hold a pencil with confidence depends on a complex mix of factors that begin well before they ever set foot in a classroom. Research consistently shows that physical and motor development in elementary-age children is shaped by genetics, environment, readiness, nutrition, and daily physical activity – and that each factor has a direct bearing on how a child learns and performs at school. For teachers and parents, understanding these factors isn’t just useful background knowledge – it’s the foundation of meaningful support.

The interplay of genetics and environment
Hereditary influences
Environmental influences
Readiness for physical activities
What readiness actually means
Readiness and school performance
The role of nutrition in physical and motor growth
Nutrients that build the body
Diet quality and motor milestones
Exercise and physical activity: building the foundation
How much activity do children need?
Structured versus unstructured activity
Exercise, the brain, and learning
Why all of this matters for educators

The interplay of genetics and environment

Physical and motor development doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s driven by two broad forces working in tandem: what a child is born with, and the world they grow up in.

Hereditary influences

Research on twins confirms that genetic factors explain most of the individual differences in the timing of motor milestone achievement – from crawling and walking to more complex physical coordination. A child’s inherited traits influence body size, muscle composition, neuromuscular maturation, and the pace of physical growth, all of which affect how and when motor skills develop. Early achievement of motor milestones like standing and walking is also linked to increased physical activity later in childhood, sports participation, and even cognitive ability and language development – meaning the genetic head start a child receives early on can ripple outward across many areas of their development.

Environmental influences

Genetics sets the potential, but environment determines how much of that potential gets realized. Access to safe play spaces, age-appropriate equipment, and exposure to diverse physical activities all directly influence a child’s ability to develop motor skills. A child with a playground nearby, a supportive family that values movement, and a school that provides structured physical education is simply given more opportunities to practice and refine physical skills.

The family environment carries particular weight. Children whose parents believed in the importance of physical activity and actively modeled it were found to have better motor performance than peers whose home environments were less physically engaged. Socioeconomic factors also matter – lower socioeconomic status is associated with fewer physical affordances for children, including less outdoor space and fewer gross motor toys, which can delay motor development across the school years.

The school environment adds another layer. Preliminary evidence suggests that children who have more interaction with teachers and classmates, and who are taught by more highly educated teachers, show better motor performance. This reinforces the idea that quality teaching and a rich school environment are not just academic concerns – they shape physical development too.

Readiness for physical activities

One of the most commonly overlooked principles in working with young children is developmental readiness – the idea that a child must be physically and neurologically prepared before a new motor skill can be effectively taught or learned.

What readiness actually means

Motor development follows a predictable sequence from simple to complex, progressing from head to toe and from the body’s core outward. Children first gain control of large muscle groups before refining small ones. This means a child who hasn’t yet mastered basic balance and coordination is simply not ready to learn more advanced movement sequences – no matter how much instruction they receive. Pushing ahead of this natural progression doesn’t accelerate development; it often leads to frustration and disengagement.

As children develop during early childhood, they become progressively more proficient at running, catching and throwing a ball, and using tools like crayons – and these milestones signal that the brain is developing as expected. When milestones are significantly delayed, it may indicate a developmental concern that warrants timely intervention.

Readiness and school performance

Motor readiness and academic readiness are closely tied. The promotion of gross and fine motor skills in schools may increase the number of children who achieve school readiness, with downstream benefits for educational outcomes. Children who enter school with well-developed motor skills can more easily manage classroom tasks that require fine motor control – writing, cutting, turning pages – which frees up their cognitive resources for learning content rather than struggling with the physical act of completing tasks.

Motor skills underpin many cognitive functions critical for learning, including working memory, response inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. Children with strong motor coordination tend to perform better on tasks requiring spatial reasoning and impulse control – both essential for classroom success.

It’s equally important that adults – teachers and parents alike – do not push children into physical tasks before their bodies are ready. Experts have noted that adults’ efforts to get young children to sit still and remain passive during learning often run contrary to children’s natural developmental needs for physical movement. Recognizing and respecting developmental readiness – rather than working against it – produces better outcomes for children both physically and academically.

The role of nutrition in physical and motor growth

Physical development doesn’t happen on movement alone. What children eat is just as central to how their bodies grow, their muscles strengthen, and their motor skills emerge.

Nutrients that build the body

A child’s body and brain develop rapidly in the early years, with nutrients such as protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals providing the building blocks for physical growth and cognitive development. Protein supports muscle and bone repair. Calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D are critical for building the skeletal structure that enables children to stand, walk, run, and jump. Iron plays a significant role in cognitive and motor development – evidence from multiple trials shows that iron provision in populations at risk for deficiency has consistently led to improved motor development outcomes.

When children don’t receive adequate nutrition, the consequences extend well beyond hunger. Malnutrition leads to failure in early physical growth, delayed motor skills, and impaired cognitive and behavioral development. Children who experience undernutrition early in life are at a disadvantage not just physically, but academically and socially – effects that can persist long into adolescence and adulthood.

Diet quality and motor milestones

Nutrition and motor development are intertwined from the earliest stages of life. Sensory-motor, cognitive, and social-emotional skills develop sequentially from simpler to more complex across developmental stages, supported by appropriate nutrition. A toddler’s ability to walk, for instance, depends not just on neurological maturation but on having the bone density and muscle strength that adequate nutrition provides. A diversified diet is a crucial protective factor against malnutrition, and sustained nutritional interventions – those lasting six months or more – have been shown to meaningfully improve children’s physical growth indicators.

Exercise and physical activity: building the foundation

Beyond nutrition, regular physical activity is one of the most powerful drivers of healthy motor development. Movement teaches the body to move better – and it also teaches the brain to learn better.

How much activity do children need?

The WHO recommends that children aged five to six participate in a minimum of sixty minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per day, with at least three sessions per week of more vigorous aerobic activity such as running games, soccer, or basketball. High-intensity activities are especially valuable for building bone strength and muscle development. Yet research suggests many young children fall short of this threshold – in some cases being more sedentary than children in previous decades – raising concerns about the pace of motor skill development in elementary-age populations.

Structured versus unstructured activity

Not all physical activity benefits children equally. Research suggests that engaging in structured leisure-time physical activity is beneficial for children’s motor development, whereas unstructured activity alone lacks the same effectiveness. Structured activities – those guided by qualified adults with clear goals and progressions – provide the kind of deliberate practice that builds motor competence. Unstructured free play, while valuable for creativity and social development, does not reliably produce the same motor skill gains on its own.

Children with low levels of movement rarely participated in physical activities, which resulted in a lack of opportunity to develop fundamental motor skills and physical fitness, preventing them from catching up with their more active peers. This creates a gap that widens over time – reinforcing the importance of consistent, daily movement opportunities from early childhood onward.

Exercise, the brain, and learning

Physical activity does more than strengthen muscles. Early gross motor abilities have been associated with cognitive processes fundamental for academic learning, including processing speed and memory – with the leading theory being that movement facilitates the development of new neural connections and the overall organization of the brain. Physical activity has also been linked to positive effects on mental health, including reduced depression, anxiety, and stress in children – a benefit with particular relevance for the classroom environment.

For teachers, this connection between movement and learning is a practical tool. Teachers promote optimal physical development when they provide children with positive encouragement and quality instruction, and when indoor and outdoor environments are designed to encourage active, enjoyable learning. Integrating movement into daily routines – not just during recess but throughout the school day – supports both physical growth and academic engagement.

Why all of this matters for educators

Physical and motor development isn’t a separate track from learning – it runs right through the center of it. Perceptual, motor, and physical development are foundations for children’s learning in all domains, enabling children to explore their environment and interact meaningfully with people and objects. A child who struggles with motor skills may also struggle to write, participate in group play, manage classroom tools, or build the self-confidence that fuels further learning.

Understanding the factors that shape physical and motor development – heredity, environment, developmental readiness, nutrition, and exercise – gives educators and caregivers the insight needed to support every child appropriately. Research shows that children who participate in regular physical activity have overall better health and confidence in their bodies and a stronger sense of what their bodies can do. That confidence doesn’t stay on the playground – it walks right into the classroom.

What do you think? How does your school or classroom currently account for children’s physical readiness when introducing new skills or activities? And given the strong link between nutrition and motor development, what role do you think educators can play in advocating for children’s nutritional well-being beyond the classroom?

References

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Table of Contents

The interplay of genetics and environment 🔗

Hereditary influences 🔗

Environmental influences 🔗

Readiness for physical activities 🔗

What readiness actually means 🔗

Readiness and school performance 🔗

The role of nutrition in physical and motor growth 🔗

Nutrients that build the body 🔗

Diet quality and motor milestones 🔗

Exercise and physical activity: building the foundation 🔗

How much activity do children need? 🔗

Structured versus unstructured activity 🔗

Exercise, the brain, and learning 🔗

Why all of this matters for educators 🔗