Adult attention and interaction can increase moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity in young children

Seven preschoolers wore activity trackers while adults played with them.

The team flipped between three five-minute play blocks: adult attention only when kids moved, attention on a fixed schedule, or no special attention.

They counted how much time each child spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity (MVPA) under each rule.

Three of the seven kids doubled or tripled their active minutes when attention came only after they moved.

The other four stayed about the same.

Non-contingent attention rarely beat doing nothing.

Hamm et al. (1978) first showed that making fun things contingent on boring things makes people do the boring things more. Zerger moves that idea from lab tasks to preschool playgrounds.

Asaro et al. (2023) later used group contingencies to boost recess activity in older kids, proving the rule still works when you swap one adult for a whole class reward system.

Van Keer et al. (2017) also saw big gains from adult responsiveness, but only in toddlers with severe delays. Their kids needed extra sensitivity; Zerger’s neurotypical kids needed only simple attention, so the papers don’t clash—they just serve different kids.

If a preschooler is glued to the wall, try giving smiles, cheers, or high-fives the instant they run, jump, or climb. Run a quick 5-minute test: alternate contingent and non-contingent attention while tracking steps. If MVPA jumps during the contingent block, you’ve found free, powerful reinforcement—no tokens, no treats, just you.