An interventional study of Kinesthetic Brain Exercises in Preschool Child Development, sponsored by Izmir Democracy University. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 3 Years to 6 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-10.
Sponsored by Izmir Democracy University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other
This study will investigate whether kinesthetic brain exercises affect physical, cognitive, and psychosocial outcomes in preschool children. Fifty children aged 3-6 years from two preschool classes will participate. One class will be randomly assigned to the exercise group and the other to the control group.
Children in the exercise group will participate in play-based movement activities supervised by a physiotherapist for 8 weeks, twice a week, for 30-40 minutes per session. Activities will include coordinated movements, ball games, and exercises combining movement with attention tasks. Children in the control group will continue their usual preschool education.
Both groups will be assessed before and after the 8-week period. The assessments will examine motor skills, attention, posture, lower-limb functional performance, fatigue, social skills and behavior, sleep habits, problematic media use, and quality of life.
This master's thesis study is designed as a two-arm, cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in a preschool education setting. Two existing classes will serve as the clusters. Using a closed-envelope procedure, one class will be allocated to the kinesthetic brain exercise group and the other to the control group. The planned enrollment is 50 children, with 25 children per group. Written informed consent will be obtained from a parent or legal guardian before participation.
The intervention will consist of 16 physiotherapist-supervised sessions delivered over 8 weeks. Each session will last approximately 30-40 minutes and include warm-up, exercise, and cool-down phases. Activities will be delivered in a play-based format appropriate to the children's age and developmental level.
Warm-up activities will include brain buttons, the thinking cap, the elephant, the owl, and cross crawl. The main exercise phase will include throwing balls into the air, jumping to either side of a straight line, stepping while throwing a ball, stepping in response to instructions, bouncing a ball with one hand while drawing circles with the other, and touching the head with one hand while drawing circles with the other. Cool-down activities will include the double doodle, lazy eights, arm activity, foot flex, and calf pumping.
The control group will continue its routine preschool education without receiving the study exercise program during the 8-week comparison period. After the final assessments, children in the control group will be offered the exercise program on an optional basis.
Assessments will be performed at baseline and at the end of the 8-week period by the same researcher. Between-group comparisons of changes over time will be used to examine the effects of the intervention.
Izmir Democracy University is the lead sponsor of 78 studies on the registry; 32 are open to participants now.
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The criteria were revised on the registry on Nov 10, 2026. See what changed
IInclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Children will participate in a physiotherapist-supervised kinesthetic brain exercise program for 8 weeks, twice weekly, for 30-40 minutes per session. The program will include warm-up, exercise, and cool-down activities delivered in an age-appropriate, play-based format.
Behavioral: Kinesthetic Brain Exercises
Children will continue their routine preschool education without receiving the study exercise program during the 8-week study period. After the final assessments, they will be offered the kinesthetic brain exercise program on an optional basis.
The program consists of three phases. Warm-up activities include brain buttons, the thinking cap, the elephant, the owl, and cross crawl. The exercise phase includes throwing balls into the air, jumping to either side of a straight line, stepping while throwing a ball, stepping in response to instructions, bouncing a ball with one hand while drawing circles with the other, and touching the head with one hand while drawing circles with the other. Cool-down activities include the double doodle, lazy eights, arm activity, foot flex, and calf pumping.
Change in Gross Motor Skills Assessed With the Test of Gross Motor Development-Second Edition (TGMD-2)
Gross motor skills will be assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-Second Edition (TGMD-2). The test includes two subtests: locomotor skills and object control skills, each comprising six skills. The total raw score ranges from 0 to 96, with higher scores indicating better gross motor skill performance. The change in total raw score from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention period will be evaluated.
Time frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks.
Change in Posture Assessed With the New York Posture Rating Chart
Posture will be assessed using the New York Posture Rating Chart, which evaluates 13 body regions. Each region is scored as 5 for normal alignment, 3 for moderately impaired alignment, or 1 for severely impaired alignment. Total scores range from 13 to 65, with higher scores indicating better postural alignment. The change in total score from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention period will be evaluated.
Time frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks.
Change in Lower-Limb Functional Performance Assessed With the Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test
Lower-limb functional performance will be assessed using the Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test. The child will be asked to stand up from and sit down on a standard chair five consecutive times as quickly as possible, with arms crossed over the chest. Completion time will be recorded in seconds using a stopwatch. Three trials will be performed, and the mean completion time will be calculated. Shorter completion times indicate better functional performance. The change in mean completion time from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention period will be evaluated.
Time frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks.
Change in Fatigue Assessed With a Faces Rating Scale
Fatigue will be assessed using a visual faces rating scale adapted for children. The scale contains six facial expressions scored as 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. Children will select the face that best represents their fatigue level, with 0 indicating no fatigue and 10 indicating very severe fatigue. Higher scores indicate greater fatigue. The change in score from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention period will be evaluated.
Time frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks
Change in Attention Assessed With the Frankfurter Attention Test
Attention will be assessed using the Frankfurter Attention Test. Children will be asked to identify and mark pear symbols among apple symbols within 90 seconds. The raw score is the number of correctly marked pears, ranging from 0 to 42. Higher scores indicate better attention performance. The change in raw score from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention period will be evaluated.
Time frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks.
Change in Social Skills Assessed With the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales
Social skills will be assessed using the 23-item Social Skills Scale of the Turkish version of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS). The scale evaluates social cooperation, social independence and acceptance, and social interaction. Items are rated according to the frequency of the observed behavior. Higher total scores indicate better social skills. The change in total score from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention period will be evaluated.
Time frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks.
Change in Problem Behaviors Assessed With the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales
Problem behaviors will be assessed using the 27-item Problem Behavior Scale of the Turkish version of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS). Items are rated according to the frequency of the observed behavior. Higher total scores indicate more frequent problem behaviors. The change in total score from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention period will be evaluated.
Time frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks.
Change in Sleep Habits Assessed With the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire
Sleep habits will be assessed using the parent-reported Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). The questionnaire includes 33 scored items covering bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, sleep duration, sleep anxiety, night wakings, parasomnias, sleep-disordered breathing, and daytime sleepiness. Items are scored from 1 to 3, with reverse scoring where applicable. Total scores range from 33 to 99, with higher scores indicating greater sleep-related difficulties. The change in total score from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention period will be evaluated.
Time frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks.
Change in Problematic Media Use Assessed With the Problematic Media Use Measure
Problematic media use will be assessed using the 27-item parent-reported long form of the Problematic Media Use Measure (PMUM). Parents will rate their child's behavior during the previous month on a five-point scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always). The overall score is calculated as the mean of the 27 item scores and ranges from 1 to 5. Higher scores indicate greater problematic media use. The change in mean score from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention period will be evaluated.
Time frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks.
Change in Health-Related Quality of Life Assessed With the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory
Health-related quality of life will be assessed using the parent-proxy report of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4.0 Generic Core Scales. The questionnaire assesses physical, emotional, social, and school functioning during the previous month. Responses are reverse-scored and transformed to a scale from 0 to 100. The total score is calculated as the mean of the scored items, with higher scores indicating better health-related quality of life. The change in total score from baseline to the end of the 8-week intervention period will be evaluated.
Time frame: Baseline and at the end of 8 weeks.
No study locations are listed for this record.
Start is estimated for Dec 2026; primary completion for Jun 2027, 6 months later.
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From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Nov 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Izmir Democracy University