The Animal Fun Program to Support the Motor Development of the Italian Pre-schoolers: a Case-Control Study

The present literature supports the importance of the motor activity since the early stages of the human development. The children with poor motor skills are at greater risk for psychosocial, internalizing, and metabolic diseases. In Italy data about obesity and inactivity are increasing, anyway there is lack of motor program for pre-schoolers. The movement program Animal Fun seems to be a valid tool to support these children. The aim of this study is to verify the feasibility of using Animal Fun with Italian pre-schoolers. 119 preschool children (3-6 years old) from 3 Italian kindergartens were included in this study. The schools were randomly allocated to intervention and control group. Movement Assessment Battery for Children - 2 (MABC-2) was administered to all the children at the baseline and at one-month follow-up. During this month, the schools assigned to the control group followed the normal curriculum; the schools assigned to the Animal Fun group, followed the Animal Fun activity (thirty minutes, thrice a week). The investigators expect that the Animal Fun program demonstrates valid and feasible even in the Italian context, where there is lack of movement program supporting the development of the pre-school children.