Aims. The study is part of the pilot project “children in preschools” and aims to detect developmental risks of preschool children in the context of their socioeconomic status (SES) as a base to initiate individual intervention strategies. Methods. The “Dortmund Developmental Screening for the Kindergarten” was used in 12 preschools in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (MWP) to detect early developmental risks in children aged 3 to 6 years ( ). Socioeconomic data from parents were collected by a standardised questionnaire. Results. Significant differences between the SES groups were identified especially in the field of fine motor skills ( ). In gross motor development differences were not statistically significant. Prevalence rate of fine motor developmental risks ranges from 1.7% to 20.9%; the rate of gross motor developmental risks tops out at 14.4%. The prevalence rates are associated with age and sex. Conclusions. Fine motor skills in 3–6 years old preschool children are significantly associated with the socioeconomic status. In gross motor skills an association could not be identified. In this study, motor development was more affected by sex than by SES. 1. Introduction The health situation of children and youth is currently changing on national and European level, from acute to more chronic diseases and from somatic to mental disorders (new morbidity) [1]. The prevalence rate of developmental disorders can reach high. In particular, the KiGGS study—The German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents—found that 13.1% of girls and 18.4% of boys aged 3 to 6 years have behavioural abnormalities [2, 3]. In several studies there is evidence to suggest a relation between the socioeconomic status (SES) and children’s development: children with a lower SES are more affected by developmental delays [4, 5]. Such developmental disorders are negative factors for children to grow up healthily. Especially motor developmental delays are often associated with an inactive lifestyle and children are affected additionally by overweight or obesity [6]. Throughout the lifespan, overweight and the lack of exercise are main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (e.g., arteriosclerosis), problems in the musculoskeletal system or some metabolic diseases (e.g., diabetes mellitus). One problem is that children from low-income households are more inclined to be overweight and suffer from lack of exercise [7, 8]. So, it can be assumed that these children are also more affected by motor developmental risks. The federal state Mecklenburg-Western
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