Motor Skill Development at Preschool Age in Girls and Boys: The Role of Outdoor Free Play

Background/Objectives: Trajectories of fundamental movement skill (FMS) development start diverging in females and males in early childhood, with determinants of this divergence spanning from individual to social and environmental factors. The present cross-sectional study focuses on the role of free outdoor play and aims to investigate whether sex differences in FMS typically observed in early childhood are associated with participation in free outdoor play. Methods: One hundred and forty-two children aged 4.3 +/- 0.8 yrs were evaluated for locomotor and object control skills (TGMD-3), weight status (BMI), and free outdoor play (parent-reported). Motor skill competence scores were submitted to moderated regression analyses to evaluate the individual and joint effects of sex, outdoor play, age, and BMI; interrelations among these variables were also estimated with network analysis. Results: Results of the moderated regression showed, beyond the expected prediction of motor skill competence (overall and object control skills) by sex and age, also a significant sex x outdoor play interaction, with higher motor skills being predicted by more frequent outdoor play in males only. The network analysis confirmed a positive association between outdoor play and motor skill competence in males but not in females. Conclusions: Males might capitalize on free outdoor play opportunities as early as preschool age to engage in activities that promote their motor and especially object control skill development. Longitudinal studies are needed to test causality and derive practical indications for enabling both males and females to fully exploit the opportunities provided by free outdoor play to exercise both locomotor and object control skills.