What is gross motor skills

Physical Development: Understanding Gross Motor Skills

Our whole life consists of movement. Pre-school age is an absolutely amazing time in this respect: in a very short period of time a baby learns to control his or her body and makes a huge leap in development. Only appearing in the world, the baby is not even able to turn on the side, and in less than two years, he/she will skillfully wield a spoon and sculpt from plasticine. In this article, we'll talk about how the formation of gross and fine motor skills in young children occurs, why it is so important and what techniques, exercises and games will benefit the child in mastering motor skills.

Why is the development of motor skills so important?

Motor skills are the basis of most activities. They allow us to do almost everything — from lifting heavy objects to typing on the keyboard, so there's no question why developing motor skills is important. Motor skills and motor control begin to develop after birth and will progress as children grow, especially rapidly in the younger preschool age.

Good motor control also helps children explore the world around them, which can help in many other areas of development.

There are many research works devoted to the study of the relationship between the development of motor skills and intellectual development.

All movements are divided into two categories: gross motor skills performed by large muscles of the body, and fine motor skills performed by the muscles of the hands. The harmonious development of both types of skills is important for the development of the child. That is why development activities for kids are so important.

How does the development of gross motor skills work?

Gross motor skills are the basis for all movements necessary in everyday life. Thanks to the work of the large muscles of the body (arm, leg and trunk muscles), walking, standing and sitting, running, jumping, cycling, swimming, throwing objects, hitting a ball, self-care skills and much more are performed.

It is thanks to a well-developed gross motor skills that you can achieve success in mastering finer and more precise movements. For example, if a child does not sit well, this impairment will become an obstacle to drawing, other development activities and games at the table.

The first thing that young children learn is to hold their head confidently. The more often mom or dad puts the babies on the stomach, the better they learn this skill. Then they learn to roll over. From about 2-3 months, children want to shift their body weight first on their side and then on their stomach. Later they master the reverse exercise - a turn from stomach to back.

After learning to roll over quickly and well, toddlers become familiar with the world when lying on their stomachs. The more freedom they feel, the more interesting it is for them to learn new  gross and fine motor skills. The fact that children who spend a lot of time on the floor begin to crawl and sit faster is due to the fact that parents do not limit their movements for fear that they will fall. And they are doing the right thing, because through these games and activities a child has the opportunity to explore the world fully!

Feeling confident in their abilities, young children try to learn and explore new boundaries: they want to move not only by turning over, but also by crawling. Some children  begin this stage by crawling, some go straight to crawling on all fours. It is difficult to give an exact age for learning this gross motor skills, but on average at 6-8 months children already know how to crawl. At the same time, the baby's body is preparing for sitting - the most important skill, which is possible only when the muscles of the trunk and back supporting the spinal column can ensure an upright position. By about 9 months of age, the child is sitting up independently.

Now that the baby has realized how many opportunities there are around for play and fun activities, his/her next task is to stand up. Closer to one year, babies realize the benefit of this gross motor skill and begin to make attempts to stand by the support, and a little later they stop holding on to it with their hands and freely turn the body in different directions, stand and squat without the help of adults. By learning this, young children gradually begin to take their first steps. Walking is the main stage of development of gross motor skills, something that is expected of all babies. The child learns to control his/her body, develops coordination - only after acquiring all these skills the child begins to walk. First, along the support, then - from object to object. Most often, a child takes his or her first steps at about one year of age, but there is no reason to worry about developmental disorders and engage in their correction if independent walking starts a little later.

After one year, more complex motor skills, but no less important for daily life - jumping, running, riding a bicycle or scooter, swimming and other activities which are very important for development - begin to appear and improve. The nervous system is already ready to perform complex movements in terms of coordination and precision.

Can poor motor skills be a sign of impairment?

All children are individual and the rate of development of each is also different. You cannot judge a child's health in general and mental health in particular by only one skill (no matter whether it is gross or fine motor skills), let alone start correcting them. When assessing a child's level of development, it is necessary to take into account many factors.

In the absence of risk factors, slower mastering of movements is most likely due to individual features. But in any case, if fears or questions arise, it is necessary to contact specialists. Only a professional can identify the problem and ways to correct it.