Look at your children—they are intuitively born with a desire for movement. Even as infants, they try to be in motion. In early childhood, they’ll want to run ahead of us, jump on something that looks to adults like just another random object in space, and skip around for no apparent reason. Ironically, sometimes we adults unconsciously stop them—”be careful not to fall, don’t climb on that.”
Today I want to talk to you about movement—one of the 10 core principles I’ve developed for architectural design for the children of the future. We’ll discuss the connection between movement and our children’s mental well-being, the importance of motor skills and movement from an early age, and understand how through 2 architectural principles we can encourage movement in any architectural design for children – whether it’s a school, kindergarten, or even your child’s room at home.
Architectural Design for Children That Encourages Movement
When I approach a project, I incorporate movement into the design from the earliest stages. And what about the children themselves? If we asked them which movement possibilities in architectural design they prefer, they’d probably suggest sliding from the school roof to the yard or from floor to floor—a request that consistently comes from many children in projects I’ve designed with them.
So yes, if you’re wondering whether this is possible, it absolutely is. Movement can indeed be incorporated into designs with slides from floor to floor, like in the kindergarten I covered in my interview with Martin Kohlbauer in Vienna, or as seen in a school in Vancouver, and even as they tried to do right here in Israel at the Atlit School (spoiler: this slide was ultimately not implemented due to safety concerns, insurance issues, and bureaucratic problems that might have provided the late Ephraim Kishon material for a sequel to “The Blaumilch Canal”).
No child wouldn’t be happy with a slide from floor to floor in their kindergarten or school; even in the bedroom I designed for my little rascals, their bunk bed includes a slide as they wanted. But to create movement, we don’t necessarily need to go as far as designing slides in every space—we can easily encourage movement in any space.
The key is maintaining these 2 principles:
- When a space has multiple entrances and exits — this inherently encourages children to enter and exit. This happens in a child’s room designed with 2 doors, it happens when a house has multiple entrances and exits creating circular movement, and also in kindergartens, schools, and any space with multiple access points, preferably at different heights and sizes. Children think differently from us adults, and that’s good. When children identify multiple entrances and exits, for them it’s a kind of game—they’ll want to enter and exit, then enter and exit again. Notice this principle the next time you’re with your children in a space with more than one entrance and exit.
- The second principle that will encourage children to be in motion is level differences. Have you noticed that when you’re walking with children on the street and sometimes encounter what from your perspective is just an object in space, children will climb on it? It could be a parking barrier, a concrete dome 35 cm high. For us, it’s a parking barrier; for children, it’s something round that’s fun to climb and jump from.
When there are level differences—whether objects on the floor, seating tribunes, a stage, or any element that can be jumped on or climbed—children will intuitively create movement themselves.
One way to encourage infants learning to crawl to improve their motor skills is to give them a more challenging surface to crawl on. A surface they can grip motivates them to move, stimulates their senses, and strengthens their muscles. Like this sophisticated Israeli-developed crawling surface.
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How Movement Shapes Our Children's Minds
I met with Dr. Hila Sharon David in her therapy room located in a beautiful 1930s International Style (Bauhaus) building on one of Tel Aviv’s most beautiful boulevards.
We met to discuss the connection between psychology, movement, and architectural design for children, and especially to understand how movement is a vital component in our children’s quality of life.
Sharon David is a social psychologist, parenting coach, and specialist in sports and physical activity psychology. At 19, a personal crisis during her military service exposed her to the powerful healing of physical activity, and today she researches and advises on sports and training psychology at several academic institutions in Israel and provides consulting to companies and organizations worldwide to promote mental health through sports. In her therapy processes, she combines physical activity with mental-emotional tools to accelerate healing and improve quality of life.
You talk a lot about the importance of movement. Why is movement so important to us?
Movement is the foundation of life. When we move, we activate psychological processes. Our body and mind are connected—this isn’t a cliché but a research-based fact. Movement affects brain and emotional processes, making it a central tool in therapy.
What is the significance of movement when it comes to treating children and adolescents?
Children are naturally connected to their bodies. For example, if a child enters a room and immediately takes off their shoes—they’re attentive to their body’s needs. In therapy, I create an environment that allows expression through the body, with yoga mats and pillows, balance exercises, and posture work. This is a significant tool for me to understand children’s emotions.
So your therapy combines both conversation and movement?
Absolutely. Dialogue helps us understand and define emotions, but movement allows the body to tell its own story.
What age groups do you work with, and what's the difference between different developmental stages in therapy?
I work with children from age 10, teenagers, and also young adults after military service. Each stage brings different challenges – from adolescence where personal identity is being built to discharged soldiers dealing with their military experiences. Additionally, I work with mothers after childbirth, helping them find a renewed balance.
I think as parents we ask ourselves, how can we know if our child needs therapy? And how do we choose a suitable therapist?
Up to age 6, the work is primarily with the parents, because the child experiences the world through them. At older ages, when a child expresses ongoing emotional or behavioral difficulties, consulting with a professional is recommended. The choice of therapist depends on needs – clinical psychologist, movement therapy, developmental guidance – each method provides a different response.
How do you see the connection between movement and coping with stress, especially during challenging times like war?
In periods of uncertainty, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. That’s why it’s important to find simple ways to incorporate movement into daily life without it becoming an additional burden. For example, developing body awareness through questions like “what’s happening in my body right now?” allows us to connect to our needs and respond accordingly.
How can we develop body awareness in children?
First of all, talk to them about it. Ask them “how does your body feel right now?” and help them identify physical sensations. One effective method is “body scanning”—going through body parts and asking questions like “what are your feet saying right now?” This strengthens the connection between body and mind and allows for deeper self-understanding.
How do we encourage teenagers to incorporate movement into their daily lives?
Personal example is the key. If a parent suggests that a child go for a run, it will usually meet resistance. But if the child sees the parent enjoying movement as part of their lifestyle, there’s a much higher chance they’ll want to join.
Body image is a very significant issue in adolescence. How can we approach it correctly?
Never comment on teenagers’ weight. They’re more aware of it than anyone. Instead, you can ask if they want help and how you can support them. Beyond that, it’s important to pay attention to what we communicate—are we focusing on external appearance, or do we compliment them on other qualities as well? Is the emphasis we place only on how beautiful they are, or do I also draw their attention to qualities like kindness or creativity?
How can parents cultivate healthy body awareness in their children?
It all starts with listening to the child and validating their feelings. If a child falls, instead of saying “oh, it’s nothing,” it’s better to say “I see you fell, that must not feel good.” This allows them to identify their emotions and understand that they’re legitimate. The more children feel heard and understood, the more they’ll develop self-confidence and a healthy connection to themselves.
I'm interested in how you as a psychologist see the connection between architecture, movement, and body perception?
The physical environment directly affects our behavior. Children naturally respond to spaces that encourage movement—if there’s an open space, they’ll run and jump. On the other hand, if there’s too rigid a framework, it can limit their freedom of movement. Therefore, architectural thinking about adapted spaces can help children connect more to their bodies.
From my perspective as an architect, in a world that's increasingly filled with buildings, high windows, and pre-defined spaces, I ask myself what happens to children's natural connection to movement and nature?
I grew up both in Israel and in England. Next to our school in London was a huge field where we would go out for certain lessons, run there, and hold the school's sports competitions.
When I arrived in Israel, to a school in Rishon LeZion, everything was concrete and sand. There were almost no green spaces, except for the school's agricultural garden that I loved as a child and am happy to say still exists today. I remember arriving at this school in 3rd grade and saying to myself, 'No way this is what a school in Israel looks like.
How do you think the architectural design of kindergartens and public spaces can support healthy development? What needs to change in Israel so that we see more physical activity and a healthy lifestyle from childhood?
We want to see much more green in our eyes. As much green in our eyes as possible. There’s a lot of research on this. How much space do we dedicate to parks? We just keep building more and more buildings, and the less green space we see, the more we harm ourselves physically and mentally.
Why is the connection to nature so important for children's development?
If we look back at ancient tribes, children developed much more autonomy, self-confidence, independence, and better social connections when they were close to nature. The more we add another building and another building, the further we move away from this.
I’m raising my children in Tel Aviv. On one hand, I really love the city, and on the other hand, growing up in a city distances us from this natural thing of being in open spaces and letting the body do what it knows best.
I really connect with what you're saying, and as an architect, one of the significant changes I emphasize in designing spaces for children is the height of windows. That windows be lower and allow children to see outside—to see nature. When I visit kindergartens and see huge windows blocked with cabinets, it emphasizes to me how unaware we are of children's need to look out of windows.
When I approach the design of a new kindergarten being built, I'm aware that there are design advantages to high windows, and sometimes there are constraints from urban planning that require me to design windows from a certain height. But for me, when the urban plan and the plot allow it, it's important to see the space from the children's perspective—their height is less than a meter and requires designing windows that allow children to look outside.
What else is important in designing an environment that encourages movement?
The more parks that invite children and more water sources like drinking fountains, the more we make physical activity accessible and encourage movement. The more people see green, the more they want to go outside.
Another point we don’t pay enough attention to is noise. The more we limit honking and create a quiet and pleasant space in terms of sound, the more significant it is. We have external noise in cities – traffic, construction, garbage trucks, honking – that harms us greatly, and this is supported by research.
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What is your approach to designing spaces for early childhood?
The most important thing is to understand the need through the child’s eyes. To do more observations and even ask children what they would like in the space. To see what brings them joy.
Children need activities and roles. They need things that help with sensory regulation – like a sandbox, water, material. These are things that help children so much. It’s also important to incorporate green spaces within the kindergarten, even through potted plants, and to use natural materials.
Children love actions like cleaning and building. For example, my son loves to clean windows, so I allow him to. In kindergartens, it’s good to enable building, setting up tents, and creating open spaces instead of predefined corners.
These possibilities you're talking about are something very important that comes into play when designing kindergartens according to innovative pedagogy — once I eliminate all the defined corners—doctor's corner, this corner, etc. What happens to the kindergarten? We essentially get a multi-purpose space where a million things can be done! Why do children need a doctor's corner? If they want to play doctor, they'll play without having a defined corner.
Imagination is what develops us, the ability to invent things and be creative. Therefore, the more we give children the opportunity to build their own play, the better.
And if we take these principles to our parenting, how does it connect in your view to everyday life at home?
It’s important to involve children in everyday activities. Make a real kitchen accessible to them, let them put dishes in the dishwasher, be involved in preparing salad. This empowers them and connects them to real life.
You know Hila, Hagit Bilia, aka the wonderful ‘Layza Pannelim’, tells that when she was six, her mother let her and her sister Shir cook alone when mom would go for a nap. Today it sounds strange to let little girls cook alone while you're napping, but Layza says that's how she learned to cook, and when she was a lone soldier, cooking gave her a sense of home.
Many of the things you talked about connect to educational approaches and issues I encounter in my parenting. I know you also have two children, and I'm sure you learn a lot from your children. What's the main message you'd like to convey to our readers and the parents among them?
It’s all about personal example. Once we as parents make healthy decisions not just for the children but truly for ourselves, it passes on. When a mother enjoys sports and healthy food and dad also takes care of himself, the child sees this. This makes it much easier to build a healthy family and a healthy life.
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Concluding Words
In my fascinating meeting with Dr. Hila Sharon David, I understood how deep the connection is between movement, psychology, and architecture in our children’s lives. I know today more than ever that beyond the physical design of spaces, architecture for children is actually designing to enable their mental and emotional development. The meeting between Hila’s psychological perspective and my architectural approach sharpened for me how essential it is to design spaces that encourage natural movement – whether through level differences, multiple entrances and exits, or incorporating green spaces. When we allow children to be in motion, we’re not only building a better physical environment but also laying the foundations for optimal quality of life and healthy emotional development.
