# Thinking, Feeling, and Moving in Kindergarten Children: How Motor Competence Shapes Executive Function Skills and Emotion Comprehension in Girls

## TL;DR

High motor skills in young girls enhance their ability to understand emotions later, suggesting physical activities can support emotional development.

## Contribution

The study reveals that motor competence moderates the link between cognitive flexibility and emotion comprehension in girls.

## Key findings

- High motor competence in girls strengthens the relationship between cognitive flexibility and later emotion comprehension.
- Verbal and visual working memory at Time 1 predict emotion comprehension in both genders.
- Motor inhibition in girls and cognitive inhibition in boys predict later emotion comprehension.

## Abstract

What are the main findings?

In girls, high motor competence at 5 years 10 months (Time 1) amplified the relationship between cognitive flexibility at Time 1 and emotion comprehension one year later (Time 2).

Both verbal and visual working memory at Time 1 predicted emotion comprehension at Time 2; in girls, motor inhibition at Time 1 predicted emotion comprehension at Time 2; and in boys, it was cognitive inhibition.

What is the implication of the main finding?

Joint physical activities, which also challenge executive function skills, may help foster emotion comprehension development.

The findings highlight the role of motor interventions and joint physical activities when it comes to choosing activities for young children.

Background/Objectives: Increased screen time partially replaces social interaction, physical activity, and outdoor play in kindergarten children, leading to a risk of decreased cognitive, emotional, and motor skills. Children with high motor skills are more likely to have access to challenging joint activities that promote their cognitive and emotional development. This study examines the moderating role of motor competence in the relationship between executive function skills and emotion comprehension. Methods: A sample of 220 kindergarten children (101 girls, 119 boys) completed the NEPSY-II subtests and the ‘Dimensional Change Card Sort’ tool for executive function skills assessment, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children—Second Edition (MABC-2) for motor competence, and the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) for emotion comprehension. Executive function skills and motor competence were assessed when children were in their penultimate year of kindergarten (children were aged on average 5 years 10 months), and emotion comprehension was assessed one year later, when children were in their final year of kindergarten. When children were in their penultimate year of kindergarten, caregivers also reported on children’s passive and active screen time, maternal education, and family income, which were used as control variables. Results: For girls, motor competence moderated the relationship between cognitive flexibility and later emotion comprehension. High motor competence amplified this relationship (B = 0.171; SE = 0.066; 95% CI [0.041, 0.302]; p = 0.011). For boys, there were no significant moderation effects. Conclusions: High motor competence can improve emotion comprehension in kindergarten girls. Emotional development may benefit from effective shared motor interventions for children.