Effects of crawling exercises at home on improving young children's behavioral performance during the COVID-19 outbreak

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of crawling exercises at home on improving young children's behavioral performance, thereby providing a reference for the role of physical activity in protecting and promoting behavioral development during the COVID-19 outbreak. Design and methodsIn total, 106 young children were included and randomly divided into the control group (51) and the experimental group (55). A 10-week exercise intervention was implemented, during which the control group engaged in rhythmic exercises, while the experimental group performed crawling exercises. The behavioral performance of young children was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist before and after the intervention period. ResultsCompared with before intervention, the behavior scores in the control group and the experimental group after intervention declined. In the control group, the internalizing behavior score, the externalizing behavior score, and the total behavioral score decreased by 1.12, 0.23 and 1.35 points, while those in the experimental group decreased by 1.78, 0.88 and 2.65 points, respectively. After the intervention, the experimental group behaved significantly better than the control group with regard to anxiety-depression and total behavioral performance (P < 0.05). ConclusionsBoth crawling exercises and rhythmic exercises led to a statistically significant improvement in the behavioral performance of young children. However, owing to the inherent benefits of integrating diverse movement elements and offering adaptable levels of difficulty, crawling exercises demonstrated a more prominent influence on the behavior of young children as compared to rhythmic exercises. As such, crawling can be recommended as a form of physical exercise for young children at home when outdoor activities are not feasible due to weather changes or epidemic control measures.