Determining Motor Development Status of 3-10 years old Children in Ahvaz City Using TGMD-3 Test

The principle elements of motor development are fundamental motor skills (FMS). The children with high levels of FMS are most likely to participate in health-related physical activities. This study aims to determine motor development status of 3-10 years old children in Ahvaz, Iran.
The research strategy and design were descriptive-normative and cross-sectional, respectively. 1,600 children of 3-10 years old (M age= 6.56±2.29 years; 50% boy) were chosen from eight regions of Ahvaz using cluster-sampling. The Instrument used for data-collection was Test of Gross Motor Development – 3rd edition (TGMD-3) test. In order to analyze the data, multivariate and Tukey post-hoc analyses were used along with Mann-Whitney U and Chi-Square tests.
Results have shown that boys, compared to girls, had better levels of performance in locomotor skills of running, horizontal jump and sliding, while girls performed galloping and skipping better than boys. In all ball skills, boys had significant higher levels of performance compared to girls. Also, results have shown that in both subtests, performance enhances with age increase. Prevalence of low motor proficiency was observed in skipping, forehand strike and overhand throw, while there was Prevalence of mastery in hoping, sliding, dribble and catching. Low motor proficiency was observed for several FMSs in girls.
Girls, compared to the boys of the same age, had lower levels of performance in all ball skills and some of locomotor skills which shows that they are at the risk of unhealthy motor development; therefore, it is suggested that special programs and equal opportunities be prepared for them in order enhance their motor competence in FMS.