Special Issue "Motor Development in Children and Adolescence"

Dear Colleagues,

Motor development encompasses the continuous development of movement abilities resulting from the dynamic interplay between biological processes and the environmental context. Newborn infants demonstrate spontaneous and reflexive movements, and as they progress towards becoming toddlers, they start to acquire fundamental movement skills (locomotive and manual skills). The motor skills children acquire during early childhood gradually become more refined and adapted to a variety of context, such as recreational and sport activities. These skills establish the foundation for efficient and more complex movement in adolescence and later phases of development.

The study of motor development explores developmental changes in movement as well as the several factors underlying those changes. Studying child and adolescent motor development through a variety of research designs enables researchers to gain valuable insights. Through research into motor development, researchers can better understand the capabilities of children and adolescents to guide their development and improve their health (health-related physical fitness and health-related behavior) and performance.

The present Special Issue, "Motor Development in Childhood and Adolescence”, aims to explore developmental changes in motor development and factors underlying these changes.

For this Special Issue, we invite the submission of original research articles and reviews that pertain to motor development in childhood and adolescence.

Submissions may encompass a wide range of topics including, but not limited to, the following:

• Optimal motor practices;
• Factors influencing motor development;
• Developmental changes across childhood and adolescence;
• The impact of motor development on physical and mental health.

Please consider contributing your research to this Special Issue, as it will contribute to the advancement of our understanding of motor development in children and adolescents, developing typical and atypically, in various contexts.

Dr. Gabriela Almeida
Dr. José Francisco Filipe Marmeleira
Dr. Carlos Luz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• physical literacy
• physical activity
• sport participation
• neurodevelopmental disabilities
• affordances