Animal-assisted physical activity promotion for children

Potential for motivation, motor skills and holistic development

Abstract

Physical activity in early childhood forms a key foundation for motor, cognitive and socio-emotional development. At the same time, studies show that many children’s levels of physical activity are insufficient. Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) offer a promising approach to counteracting this by combining physical activity with emotional stimulation and social interaction. This study analyses the effects of AAI on motor skills, enjoyment of physical activity and social behaviour in children aged between five and eight years. Data were collected using an assessment questionnaire designed specifically for this study, which was completed by five professionals based on their observations of a total of 35 children. The unit of analysis is therefore the professional. The descriptive analysis shows consistently high mean scores across all subscales, with particularly high scores for enjoyment of movement and emotional engagement. Motor and social behaviour-related aspects are also rated positively by the professionals. Due to the small sample size , the self-constructed assessment tool and the purely descriptive nature of the analysis, the findings should be regarded as exploratory and not generalisable. They provide initial practice-oriented insights that need to be tested in further studies with larger samples and objective measurement methods.