BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Children's motor skills are a critical foundation for physical activity. The objective was to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of a mobile app-based intervention delivered to parents to improve preschoolers' motor skills. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial randomly assigned children to: (1) Motor Skills, including instructional lessons, peer modeling videos, behavioral scaffolding, and structured activities or (2) Free Play. Both groups received a 12-week app-based intervention informed by social cognitive theory to deliver 12 hours (12-minutes per day, 5x per week) of instruction. The children were aged 3 to 5 y; parents and children had no mobility impairments. The primary outcome variables were children's motor skills percentile score assessed with the Test of Gross Motor Development, third edition (TGMD-3) at baseline, end-of-intervention (week 12), and follow-up (week 24); and feasibility and acceptability. RESULTS: Seventy-two children (4.0 +/- 0.8 y) participated. Between baseline and week 12, children in the Motor Skills condition significantly improved total TGMD-3 percentile (+13.7 Motor Skills versus -5.3 Free Play, p < 0.01), locomotor skills percentile (+15.5 Motor Skills versus -4.8 Free Play, p < 0.01), and ball skills percentile (+8.3 Motor Skills versus -7.3 Free Play, p < 0.01) compared with children in the comparator group. Significant differences were sustained at follow-up (week 24). Adherence did not significantly differ between conditions (71% for Motor Skills; 87% for Free Play). Parents in both arms reported high scores on satisfaction, helpfulness, and ease of use. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians and educators may encourage parents to enhance their child's motor skills through structured at-home programs.
Reproduced with permission from Pediatrics. Copyright by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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