How does movement affect a child’s speech, focus, and learning?

Did you know that before your child starts speaking full sentences, counting, or reading, they must… move a lot?

Physical Activity and Brain Development in Children

A child’s movement is a natural, diverse activity that develops the body, senses, and most importantly, the child’s brain. Physical activity is true fuel for mental and cognitive development.

When a child moves – their brain works at full capacity. Jumping, rolling, climbing, or cycling activate brain areas responsible for:

• visual-motor coordination, essential for writing and drawing (manual exercises),
• planning and sequencing movements (e.g., the order of letters in a word),
• spatial orientation, important for reading and mathematics,
• emotion regulation, which supports focus and attention concentration,
• phonemic hearing, i.e., the ability to distinguish sounds and language development.

This way, motor development directly impacts cognitive functions and language abilities in children.

Speech Development and Child Motor Skills

What does physical activity have to do with speech development? It may seem that hand movement and speech development are separate areas, but they are closely related. Motor development and proper speech development often go “hand in hand.” Before a child starts speaking, they learn to communicate through gestures, facial expressions, and movement.

Research shows that children with delayed motor development often also have difficulties with articulation and understanding speech. Therefore, supporting motor development is also an important part of supporting cognitive development and the intensive development of speech.

Cognitive Skills and Child Movement

A child’s movement has a huge impact on the development of their cognitive skills and thinking processes. Thanks to physical activity, a child develops functions such as memory, attention, spatial thinking, and planning.

Stimulating motor development also supports the development of fine motor skills (read the article: “Problems with Fine Motor Skills – When to See a Specialist?”) and gross motor skills, which translates to better preparation for learning to write and read. Brain-developing games like walking on a line or jumping activate the hippocampus – a part of the brain essential for memory and learning.

This way, a child absorbs new information more quickly and handles daily educational challenges better.

Attention Concentration Disorders – How Can Movement Help?

Many children struggle with attention concentration disorders, which hinder learning and daily functioning. Often, this problem stems from insufficiently developed body control and muscle tension.

Regular physical activity, especially balancing exercises and movement games, helps a child better control their body and emotions, which leads to a longer attention concentration span.

In neurological-behavioral therapy and sensory integration therapy, movement is the foundation for improving attention and eliminating problems with concentration disorders and learning.

Attention Concentration and Child Movement – How Do They Connect?

Have you noticed that when a child doesn’t have the chance to move, they start fidgeting, spinning, or rocking? It’s not a lack of discipline, but a natural way for the child’s brain to stimulate itself and maintain attention. Children with underdeveloped movement control often have problems with attention concentration disorders and speech disorders.

Therefore, appropriate stimulation and physical development help improve concentration skills and children’s mental development.

Physical Activity – What Helps Support Proper Child Development?

You can support a child’s development by encouraging various forms of movement that stimulate both the body and the mind:

• balancing exercises, such as standing on one foot or walking on a line,
• activities involving alternating movement, like jumping jacks or marching with knee lifts,
• general development activities, such as running, climbing, rolling.

Such motor exercises improve a child’s motor skills, develop fine and gross motor skills, and also positively impact cognitive development and language skills.

Read the article: “How to Support Physical Development in Children? The Importance of Outdoor Play.”

Movement is Learning – Why It’s Important to Support Child Movement Development Before Learning?

Before starting to learn things like reading or writing, a child should have the opportunity to move. Physical activity helps them:

• memorize information faster,
• maintain attention for longer periods,
• cope with emotions better,
• improve skills in writing, reading, and counting.

Instead of treating movement as a break from learning, treat it as an integral element of child development stimulation and cognitive skill development.

What Can You Do As a Parent to Support Child Physical and Speech Development?

1. Encourage your child to engage in physical activity in everyday situations — for example, jumping over puddles, walking along a curb.
2. Encourage your child to engage in short, around 10-minute physical activities before learning, puzzles, or manual activities like drawing.
3. Avoid commands like “sit still” – let your child move naturally.
4. Instead of correcting posture, engage in balance play or exercises that strengthen muscles — a stable posture is the result of effort, not commands.
5. Be a good role model — children are most likely to engage in movement when they see their parents doing the same.

Summary

Motor development influences many aspects of a child’s development: from motor skills, cognitive development, to proper speech development and attention skills. Physical activity is not only a way to ensure good health but also a crucial element in learning and mental development.

By ensuring proper motor stimulation, you support a child’s development on many levels — from early therapeutic intervention to sensory integration, and the development of cognitive and social functions.

Remember: a child develops best when they can move freely — movement is learning!

Learn more about the KIDS&Co. kindergarten and nursery program. Our facilities are located in the following cities:

• private preschools and nurseries in Warsaw
• private preschools and nurseries in Wrocław
• private preschools and nurseries in Gdańsk
• private preschools and nurseries in Łódź
• private preschools and nurseries in Kraków
• private preschools and nurseries in Katowice
• private preschools and nurseries in Poznań
• private preschools and nurseries in Suwałki
• private preschools and nurseries in Ostrów Mazowiecka
• And from September, also private preschool and nursery in Gdynia

 

Bibliography

• Klaus Libertus, Dominic A Violi, Sit to Talk: Relation between Motor Skills and Language Development in Infancy, www.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4815289/
• Cristiana Varuzza, Barbara D’Aiello, Giulia Lazzaro, Fabio Quarin, Paola De Rose, Paola Bergonzini, Deny Menghini, Andrea Marini, Stefano Vicari, Gross, Fine and Visual-Motor Skills in Children with Language Disorder, Speech Sound Disorder and Their Combination, www.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9856286/
• Daniela Mulé, Ilka Jeger, Jörg Dötsch, Florian Breido, Nina Ferrari, Christine Joisten, Correlation between Language Development and Motor Skills, Physical Activity, and Leisure Time Behaviour in Preschool-Aged Children, www.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35327803/