Introduction:

Childhood is a crucial period in a person's life cycle. It is the time when the personality begins to take definitive shape and healthy daily habits are acquired.

Objective:

Analyze the self-perception of motor competence in relation to gender, body weight and number of siblings.

Methods:

The study population was 310 sixth-grade students (M ± SD; 10.87 ± 0.54) from the Autonomous Community of Castile-La Mancha. The tool used to measure this construct was motor competence perception in physical education.

Results:

Motor competence perception is yet another factor to be developed as part of the acquisition of a healthy lifestyle, particularly by girls. The educational setting in joint coordination with the parents should contribute to the formation of the students' full, well-balanced personality alongside the acquisition of healthy daily habits.

Conclusions:

The statistical analysis performed revealed greater motor competence perception among male, normal weight, only child students in terms of their own experience and that of their schoolmates (p < 0.05).

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