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. 2025 Aug 8;17(1):230.
doi: 10.1186/s13102-025-01274-4.

Relationships between types of balance performance in 3-to-6-year-old preschoolers: a cross-sectional study

Jiefeng Zhu #  1 , Ruiqin Li #  2 , Ao Yu  1 , Pei Deng  3 , Sikuan Ren  1 , Yulong Nie  1 , Ruiyuan Li  4
Affiliations

Relationships between types of balance performance in 3-to-6-year-old preschoolers: a cross-sectional study

Jiefeng Zhu et al. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. .

Abstract

Background: Balance is often considered task-specific, as indicated by studies correlating several types of balance performance across age groups. Preschool years constitute a critical period for balance development, yet comprehensive data during this stage remain limited. Therefore, this study aimed to (1) investigate the association between types of balance performance in preschool children and (2) examine age-specific aspects of balance performance in preschoolers.

Methods: Four balance types were assessed in 619 preschoolers (aged 3 to 6 years): static steady-state (one-legged stance, OST), dynamic steady-state (10-meter walk, 10MWT), proactive (functional reach test, FRT), and reactive (push and release test, PRT). Pearson's correlation coefficients (r) were calculated to determine associations between balance types, and a one-way analysis of variance was used to evaluate differences across age groups (3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, and 5.5 years).

Results: Small-sized correlations existed between four balance performance (-0.113 ≤ r ≤ 0.327, p < 0.01). Significant correlations were observed between static and dynamic steady-state balance (-0.207 ≤ r ≤ -0.359), static steady-state and proactive balance (+ 0.216 ≤ r ≤ + 0.510), and dynamic steady-state and proactive balance (-0.210 ≤ r ≤ -0.264) in most age groups. Age positively affected all balance tests: OST (η2p = 0.336, p < 0.001), 10MWT (η2p = 0.448, p < 0.001), FRT (η2p = 0.392, p < 0.001), and PRT (η2p = 0.045, p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Small-sized correlations suggest that balance performance is task-specific in preschool children. Balance ability improves gradually with age, showing different development patterns. These findings demonstrate that distinct balance types lack mutual predictability during early development. Therefore, comprehensive evaluation and enhancement of preschoolers' balance require separate assessment for each balance type and age-specific task design.

Keywords: Balance ability; Postural control; Preschool children.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study protocol was approved by the Beijing Sport University Institutional Research Commission (Approval number: 2022155 H). Parents of all subjects read and signed an informed consent form prior to their child’s participation in the study, and the study procedures were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Clinical trial number: not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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