II.

ACKNOWLEDGE THAT 4. The importance of play and recreation in the life of every child has long been acknowledged by the international community. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) of 1989 explicitly states in Article 31 that ‘States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.’ All activities for children, including sport activities and physical education, must always be carried out in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 5. The EU Guidelines on Physical Activity (5) pointed out that young children's daily habits have changed in recent years due to new leisure patterns (TV, internet, video games, smartphones, etc.) and that this has led to their decreasing physical activity. Furthermore time, social and budgetary constraints, changes in lifestyle or a lack of appropriate sporting facilities in the vicinity may also explain this trend. The EU Guidelines stressed that there was considerable concern as to whether physical activity among children and young people had been replaced by more sedentary activities. 6. Despite the general propensity of children to be physically active, their physical activity has decreased over the past 20 years. This change has coincided with increasing rates of childhood overweight and obesity and health problems or physical disabilities such as musculoskeletal disorders. According to estimates from the WHO's Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI), around 1 in 3 children in the EU aged 6-9 were overweight or obese in 2010 (6). This is a worrying increase since 2008, when the estimates were 1 in 4 (7). In industrialised countries, for children below the age of 5 the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased from 8 % in 1990 to 12 % in 2010 and is expected to reach 14 % by 2020 (8). The lack of physical activity also has negative effects on health systems and the economy as a whole. It is estimated that around 7 % of national health budgets across the EU are spent on diseases linked to obesity each year (9). 7. In order to prevent these childhood health and developmental problems all children (including children with disabilities) must be encouraged to be physically active. The years in early childhood education and care (ECEC) are important because key skills are developed in that period. Through play and physical activity, children learn and practice skills that they will need throughout their lives. This learning process called motor skill development does not always develop naturally. Therefore the promotion of awareness and the creation of opportunities for children to be physically active are of the utmost importance. 8. The WHO has identified insufficient physical activity as the fourth leading risk factor for premature mortality and disease globally (10). The benefits of physical activity are well known. Physical activity is one of the most effective ways to prevent non-communicable diseases and combat obesity, and to maintain a healthy lifestyle (11). There is also growing evidence on the positive correlation between exercise and mental health and cognitive processes (12). WHO reports (13) have demonstrated that involvement in regular, moderate to intense sporting or physical activity (14) (at least 60 minutes per day for children of school age and 3 hours for children in ECEC) creates a long-term predisposition towards physical activity that increases during adolescence and adulthood (15). Studies have also demonstrated that when children begin to exercise from an early age, they tend to perform better academically, have fewer behavioural and disciplinary problems, and can pay attention in class longer than their peers (16). 9. The education environment plays a particularly important role in this context, as children engage in physical activity and sport in school. For this reason, schools and teachers facilitate children's physical activity, along with educators in ECEC settings and sports clubs. For children, the parents, family and the wider community play an important role too. 10. According to experts, suitable physical activity for children under the age of 12 years should be arranged by age group (17). Activities at ECEC and primary level include structured and unstructured activities that help children to develop skills such as running, jumping or throwing. 11. Some Member States have already developed various national strategies, to varying degrees, to encourage the development of motor skills in early childhood and physical and sporting activities for children under 12, mostly in cooperation with the sport sector and sports clubs or federations (18). 12. In line with its mandate, the Expert Group on Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA XG) proposed a set of recommendations in June 2015 for encouraging physical education in schools, including motor skills in early childhood.