Physical Activity-Socialization Co-occurrence in Typically Developing Toddlers

Background/Purpose: Studies have examined the impact of physical activity or socialization separately on health-related outcomes in the preschool and school age populations. Physical and social development co-emerge during early childhood, however, no studies have quantified even the basic co-occurrences of physical activity and socialization. The lack of standard occurrences in typically developing children is a serious barrier to determining the effectiveness of interventions aimed at increasing the physical activity and/or socialization of children with special needs. The purpose of this study is to quantify the occurrence and co-occurrence of physical activity and socialization in typically developing toddlers. 

Method: Participants (n = 21; 11 boys and 10 girls; M age = 24.8 months old) attended a university-based early learning center. Each child was video recorded for 20 minutes in three contexts: classroom, gym, and playground (60 minutes total per child). Physical activity level was defined according to the Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children- Preschool version (Brown et al., 2006). Socialization behaviors were simultaneously coded as solitary play, parallel play, peer interaction, and teacher interaction according to Howes’ Peer Play Scale (Howes & Matheson, 1992). Data coding occurred through momentary time sampling: 5-s of observation of both physical activity and socialization, followed by 10-s coding intervals. 

Analysis/Results: Toddlers participated on average in the following percent of time in each level of physical activity: motionless (21.8%), trunk and limb (46.6%), slow-easy (20.4%), moderate (5.3%), and fast movements (5.9%); and type of socialization: solitary play (28.2%), parallel play (37.4%), peer interaction (10.4%), and teacher interaction (24%). Across all levels of physical activity, children engaged in social interactions (i.e. all types of socialization except solitary play) a majority of the time (range: 52.7% - 77.9%). Similarly, across all types of socialization, children were moving (all physical activity levels except motionless) a majority of the time (range: 72% - 84%). 

Conclusions: Physical activity and socialization behaviors are highly embedded and co-occur frequently in the daily lives of typical developing toddlers. Thus, adapted physical education and social interventions that target young children should focus on providing opportunities to engage in physical activity within social settings, and socialization within a physically active context in order to promote the development of each domain. Future studies can now test more specific hypotheses regarding creative technology and training to provide these physical-social opportunities to encourage development.