Observation of stunting status with the motor skills of toddler children

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Background: Stunting is a condition of child growth caused by chronic malnutrition that lasts for a long period of time. This condition can cause slowed physical growth and delays in the development of fine motor skills, gross motor skills, language and personal social skills in children. Good motor skills enable children to carry out daily activities and have a big impact on the child's future. This study aims to evaluate the motor skills of children diagnosed with stunting. Method: This research applies a descriptive quantitative approach with a cross-sectional research design, with a sample consisting of two groups of children (boys/girls) with a total sample of 31 children with criteria aged 3 to 5 years: the group diagnosed with male stunting (N =12) and female stunting group (N=19). Children's motor skills were measured using the TGMD-2 (Test of Gross Motor Development-2) motor skills test which has been tested for validity and reliability. The Shapiro-Wilkoxon test was used to check normal data distribution. Results: The results of the study showed that there was a significant difference between male and female children diagnosed with stunting (P<0.05). Children diagnosed with female stunting have lower motor skills with an average Gross Motor Quontient x̄87, while boys diagnosed with stunting have a Gross Motor Quontient of x̄85.9. In male stunting children, the highest performance was in the kick movement skill with a value of ±4.25, while the lowest performance was in the gallop skill with a value of ±2.00. For girls with stunting, the highest performance was in the object control skill Stricking a stationary ball with a value of ±3.53, while the lowest performance was in the gallop skill with a value of ±1.32. In terms of motor skills, normal boys performed better than girls in jumping, hopping, and sliding (P<0.05). In terms of motor skills, male stunted children performed better than female stunted children (P<0.05). Conclusion:In this study, children with the same nutritional status and different genders (boys/girls) showed certain characteristics in basic motor skills (FMS), indicating that they were influenced by nutritional status and gender. Boys and girls with stunting status tend to have lower abilities in carrying out some process characteristics of some skills than others, but may perform better in other skills. This suggests that certain population groups may require a special focus on interventions to improve their basic motor skill levels. Further research will provide greater clarity for improving interventions targeted at basic motor skills. Keywords: Locomotor skills; Object control skills; Basic motor skills; Children; Development; Nutritional status.