Developmental associations of fundamental motor skills and executive functions in preschoolers — The role of the physical activity and the effects on early numeracy

Background: Physical activity, fundamental motor skills, executive functions and early numeracy have shown to be related, but very little is known about the developmental relations of these factors.

Procedure: We followed 317 children (3–6 years) over two years. Fundamental motor skills and executive functions (inhibition+switching, updating) were measured at all time points (T1, T2, T3) and physical activity at T1 and early numeracy at T3.

Main findings: Children with better fundamental motor skills at T1 developed slower in inhibition and switching. Fundamental motor skills developed faster in children who had better initial inhibition and switching ability. Vigorous physical activity at T1 was associated with a weaker initial inhibition and switching. The initial level and the developmental rate of updating were related to better early numeracy skills.

Conclusions: Findings indicate that fundamental motor skills and executive functions are developmentally related, and updating is an important predictor for early numeracy in preschoolers.