Skeletal maturation, fundamental motor skills, and motor performance in preschool children

Relationships among skeletal age (SA), body size and fundamental motor skills (FMS) and motor performance were considered in 155 boys and 159 girls 3‐6 years of age. Stature and body mass were measured. SA of the hand‐wrist was assessed with the Tanner‐Whitehouse II 20 bone method. The Test of Gross Motor Development, 2nd edition (TGMD‐2), and the Preschool Test Battery were used, respectively, to assess FMS and motor performance. Based on hierarchical regression analyses, the standardized residuals of SA on chronological age (SAsr) explained a maximum of 6.1% of the variance in FMS and motor performance in boys (ΔR23, range 0.0%‐6.1%) and a maximum of 20.4% of the variance in girls (ΔR23, range 0.0%‐20.4%) over that explained by body size and interactions of SAsr with body size (step 3). The interactions of the SAsr and stature and body mass (step 2) explained a maximum of 28.3% of the variance in boys (ΔR22, range 0.5%‐28.3%) and 16.7% of the variance in girls (ΔR22, range 0.7%‐16.7%) over that explained by body size alone. With the exception of balance, relationships among SAsr and FMS or motor performance differed between boys and girls. Overall, SA per se or interacting with body size had a relatively small influence in FMS and motor performance in children 3‐6 years of age.