Survey of children’s motor actions in the playground

Abstract

The goal of study was to survey the motor actions children perform in the playground of elementary school. The central issue was to see whether these actions were related to age, sex and the kind of toy used. Thirty three children, between five and six years of age were observed individually while they played freely in their school’s grounds during ten minutes each. Girls took more time in one play activity while boys tried different activities. Girls spent more time in swings than boys in any other activity. Boys played in eleven different activities while girls played in nine activities. Overall, children of both ages preferred manipulative actions, five year old children showed also preference for stability actions while six year old children for locomotor actions.