Getting an Active Start: Assessing the Impact of a Physical Literacy-Based Intervention on Preschool-Aged Children’s Fundamental Movement Skills, Motor Competency and Behavioral Self-Regulation

Fundamental movement skills (FMS) and behavioral self-regulation (SR) are important for lifelong physical activity (PA). While physical literacy (PL) mediates child PA, its broader developmental impact in early childhood education (ECE) remains underexplored. The Active Start feasibility study examined a 10-week PL-based intervention's effects on FMS (stationary, locomotion, object control), total motor competency and behavioral SR, as well as sex-based differences, among 3-5-year-olds in Somerville, Massachusetts childcare centers. Children (mean age = 3.8 years, 55% boys) were randomized by childcare center (two per condition) into intervention (<i>n</i> = 39) or control (<i>n</i> = 35) groups. Outcomes were measured at baseline and final using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales for FMS and motor competency and the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task for SR. Intervention effects were assessed using linear mixed-effects and zero-inflated mixed-effects hurdle models, with interactions examining sex-based differences in program effectiveness. Stationary skills had a net average improvement of 2.3 points in the intervention group compared to the control (<i>p</i> < 0.01). No significant treatment effects were observed for locomotor, object control, total motor competency or behavioral SR skills (<i>p</i> > 0.05). The treatment effects did not significantly differ by sex. PL-based ECE interventions may enhance stability skills in motor development, but further research in larger samples is needed to determine broader impacts on early childhood development.