Gross motor development for toddlers
Gross Motor Skills - Kamloops Childrens Therapy
Gross Motor development involves the larger, stronger muscle groups of the body. In early childhood, it is the development of these muscles that enable your toddler to hold his/her head up, sit, crawl and eventually walk, run and skip.
Between the ages of 12–18 months, your toddler should:
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Between the ages of 18 months – 2 years, your toddler should:
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Between the ages of 2 – 2 ½ years, your toddler should:
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Between the ages of 2 ½ - 3 years, your toddler should:
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Red Flags for Gross Motor Development (1–5 years)
If you notice or are concerned about any of the following with your child, you may want to talk to your physician or another health professional.
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If you have concerns about your child at any age, please feel free to contact us to speak to a professional. You can also make a referral to our centre at anytime.
Toddler development - motor skills
Toddler development - motor skills | Pregnancy Birth and Baby beginning of content7-minute read
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Children grow and develop fast during their toddler years.
They start exploring their world more independently. Their coordination improves, and they begin doing more things for themselves. There are many ways in which you can help your toddler develop both their fine and gross motor (movement) skills.
What are motor skills?
Children develop 2 types of motor (movement) skills:
- fine motor skills
- gross motor skills
Fine motor skills involve using your hands and fingers to control small objects.
Gross motor skills involve using the large muscles in your body to make large movements.
Fine motor skills
Fine motor skills engage the small muscles in the hands and fingers so your child can:
- hold
- grasp
- grip
- pinch
Examples of fine motor skills are:
- buttoning up a shirt
- holding a pencil
- picking up food
Children develop fine motor skills so they can learn how to look after themselves.
These skills help them to eventually learn to write.
Fine motor skills are important. Evidence suggests there's a link between fine motor skills development and language, literacy and brain development.
Other examples of fine motor skills include:
- clapping hands
- cleaning teeth
- picking up and putting objects down
- putting on shoes
- rolling playdough
- shaking musical instruments
At what age will my child develop fine motor skills?
While all children develop at their own pace, they do reach some milestones within certain age ranges.
Babies start to grasp objects using their hands (but not necessarily their thumbs) between 5 and 6 months old. They usually start to play with hand-held toys between 6 and 12 months.
By 18 months, most toddlers will attempt more complex skills. These may include:
- drinking from a cup independently
- trying to dress themselves
- using a crayon or pencil
From 2 years old, toddlers' fine motor skills become more sophisticated.
They may start to show an interest in:
- scribbling
- drawing
- trying to write
Between 2 and 3 years old, they might be able to turn doorknobs and screw jar lids.
By 5 years old, your child might show a preference for one hand over the other.
How can I help my child improve their fine motor skills?
You can help your child grow and practise their newfound skills through play and activities.
- Paint, draw, glue and cut (with safety scissors).
- Pick up objects with tongs or toy tweezers.
- Play with blocks, Lego or do puzzles together.
- Roll playdough into shapes and cut with cookie cutters.
- Sand play using spades and buckets.
- Stacking cups or containers so they can pop the smaller ones into the larger ones. They can also use them to fill with water and practise pouring.
- Thread beads.
Gross motor skills
Gross motor skills involve the movement of the larger muscles in their arms, legs, and torso, such as:
- crawling
- jumping
- running
- throwing
You might notice that as your toddler builds their gross motor skills, they don't like to keep still.
When will my child develop gross motor skills?
Like fine motor skills, kids start developing gross motor skills when they're small babies. Even in their first 2 months, babies will kick their legs and wave their arms around.
At 6 to 8 months old, your baby should be able to roll, reach and sit independently (if only briefly).
Between 12 and 18 months, most babies are walking.
By 2 years old, toddlers can typically:
- jump over small objects
- throw a small ball or object
- walk up and down stairs
Between 2 and 3 years, kids are capable of more complex movements such as:
- climbing stairs without holding the railing
- running faster
- avoiding obstacles
At 3 to 5 years old, movement may progress to:
- climbing on play equipment
- walking on a balance beam
How can I help my child improve their gross motor skills?
Give your child the space to safely explore their environment and practise their gross motor skills.
You can expect a few falls and bumps. They'll likely be testing their physical limits to know how far they can run, climb, and jump. You can:
- blow and chase bubbles outside
- dance to music at home
- encourage them to 'help' with everyday tasks, such as gardening or hanging clothes on the line
- throw a large ball to them, and have them throw it back
- visit playgrounds, parks, and the beach
- wheel, push or ride on large toy
Try to limit screen time, as this can inhibit movement and physical play.
When to seek help
It’s normal for children to take different amounts of time to reach different milestones. However, if you feel like your child's motor skills aren't developing well, seek advice. See your doctor or child health nurse if your 2 or 3-year-old:
- can't run
- can't walk up and down stairs, even with help
- has difficulty using small objects, like a crayon
- doesn't scribble or try to draw
- loses the physical skills they had before
Where can I get more information and support?
For resources on helping your child’s motor skills develop, you can visit the Learning Potential website.
You can call Parentline in your state or territory for advice and information:
- Parentline ACT: (02) 6287 3833, Mon to Fri, 9am – 5pm AEST / Sat, 10am – 12 midday
- Parent Line NSW: 1300 1300 52, Mon to Fri, 9am – 9pm / weekends, 4pm – 9pm
- Parentline Queensland and Northern Territory: 1300 30 1300, 7 days, 8am – 10pm
- Parent Helpline South Australia: 1300 364 100, 7 days, 7.15am – 9.15pm
- Parent Line Tasmania: 1300 808 178, 24 hours, 7 days
- Parentline Victoria: 13 22 89, 7 days, 8am – 12 midnight
- Ngala Parenting Line WA: (08) 9368 9368 or 1800 111 546, Open 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm
Speak to a maternal child health nurse
Call Pregnancy, Birth and Baby to speak to a maternal child health nurse on 1800 882 436 or video call. Available 7am to midnight (AET), 7 days a week.
Sources:
International journal of environmental research and public health (A Network Perspective on the Relationship between Screen Time, Executive Function, and Fundamental Motor Skills among Preschoolers), Queensland Government Early Childhood Education and Care (Developing motor skills), Victoria State Government (Literacy Teaching Toolkit - Fine motor), Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (Developmental milestones and the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Standards), Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service (Red Flags Early Identification Guide), Healthy WA (Child development)Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.
Last reviewed: July 2022
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Developing a child's gross motor skills | Counseling Center
Paying attention to fine motor skills, parents forget about large motor skills: the main load for first-graders falls not on the hand, but on the upper shoulder girdle.
It is important to develop not only fine, but also large motor skills of the child.
Gross motor skills, that is, movements of the large muscles of the body, develop much earlier than fine motor skills. This is the basis on which more complex and subtle movements of fine motor skills are subsequently superimposed.
Muscle development begins soon after the baby is born. First, the muscles responsible for eye movements develop, then for turning the head, and the baby can hold, and then rotate the head. Then the development of the muscles gradually goes down: shoulders and arms (the child rises on his elbows), torso (the baby masters turns from back to stomach and vice versa), legs (sit down, crawls and walks, bends over, jumps). And all this is gross motor skills - without it, it will be impossible for the child to perform any small movements.
Motor difficulties in children can interfere with normal speech development, impede movement in space, active actions with various objects and tools, mastering writing and reading skills, playing sports and games.
As a result of movement disorders in children, motivation for games and any other activity may be disturbed.
In addition, motor exercises help:
* raise the child's activity level;
* provide the development of visual and auditory attention;
* contribute to the formation of interhemispheric interaction;
* develop the ability to manage their behavior, overcome stereotypes in behavior (Glozman Zh. M., 2009).
Movement exercises form an image of the child's own body, which helps to better understand oneself, control one's body and behavior, and also make it easier to navigate in space.
There are a wide variety of games and activities to develop gross motor skills in preschoolers.
- The first and simplest is charging. Performing all kinds of exercises for turning and tilting, walking on toes and heels, swings and squats, jumping and crossing your arms help you learn to control your body .
Use the ball: you can roll it, throw it and catch it, you can squat, bend over with it.
- Rope games, as well as throwing and hitting games, rings, playing towns, darts will help develop attention and coordination movements.
- Dancing, cycling and scooter riding, rollerblading and skating - all this contributes to strengthening the muscular system of children.
For the development of a child's gross motor skills, exercises for mirroring the movements of an adult are also well suited. This will allow you to develop a reaction in a playful and fun way and learn to feel your body.
You can learn to control your body and develop general motor skills in preschoolers by introducing them to housework. Wiping the dust, vacuuming, sweeping with a broom or washing the floor, washing dishes, watering flowers, hanging washed clothes on a string - all this is simple when you learned it a long time ago, and for a child it will be an excellent workout for large muscles.
And at the same time, he will feel like an adult, because he does not train, but, like mom and dad, does adult things.
Don't teach your child to be lazy!
Modern children must be forced to move. Nearly half of girls and a quarter of boys of preschool age are observed to be obese to varying degrees.
You can learn a lot of interesting things without making any movements at all. For example, a mobile that hangs over the bed plays a melody, glows, spins, and the child cannot reach it with his hands. Or a toy, which is enough to press one button, and in response it gives out a whole range of actions. For an infant, this is all cognitive activity, but it has no motor realization.
As a result, the child is overwhelmed with information, and then he just needs to move actively to compensate for intellectual activity.
Sets of exercises for the development of gross motor skills
1.
Log. From a supine position (legs together, arms extended above the head), roll over several times, first in one direction, then in the other direction.
2. "Kolobok". Lying on your back, pull your knees to your chest, wrap your arms around them, pull your head to your knees. In this position, roll several times, first in one direction, then in the other direction.
3. Letter in the air. I.p. - lying on your back, arms stretched forward in front of the chest. At the same time (in one direction) hands in the air "prescribe" letters, numbers, as well as whole words. The same technique is used when correcting a letter - when letters are omitted, their replacements, "mirror" spelling and other errors.
4. Drawing on a board, a sheet of paper with both hands at the same time. Both hands first move in one direction, then in opposite directions. First, the child draws straight lines - vertical, horizontal, oblique, perpendicular; then various circles, ovals, triangles, squares.
5.I p. - sitting on your knees (standing). Hands are bent at the elbows. One hand performs a fist-palm movement, the other simultaneously performs a fist-rib-palm movement. After mastering, various oculomotor exercises are added.
6. I.p. - lying on your back, legs together, straight arms extended above your head. The right arm and right leg are bent, the elbow touches the knee. We return to the I.P. We repeat the same with the left hand and left foot. Then the exercise is done on the opposite side of the left foot and right hand and vice versa.
7. I.p. - sitting on your knees (standing). For this exercise, you need a tight, but not elastic, oblong object (rag "sausage"). The host throws an object to the child, the child catches it, while moving only his arms. Then the object must be caught with one hand. When the exercise is mastered, the child is given the task to alternately close one or the other eye, catching the object either with the right or with the left hand..jpg)
8. Crawling on the stomach. First, in a plastunsky way. Then only on the hands, the legs are relaxed. Then only with the help of the legs, hands behind the back (in the last stages, hands behind the head, elbows to the side).
9. Crawling on the back without the help of arms and legs ("Worm").
10. "Spider". The child sits on the floor, puts his hands a little behind him, bends his legs at the knees and rises above the floor, leaning on his palms and feet. He walks simultaneously with his right hand and right foot, then with his left hand and left foot (the exercise is performed in four directions - forward, backward, right, left). The same, only opposite hand and foot are walking at the same time. After mastering, movements of the head, eyes and tongue are added in various combinations.
11. "Elephant". The child stands on four limbs so that the weight is evenly distributed between the arms and legs. Simultaneous steps with the right side, then the left. At the next stage, the legs are parallel, and the arms are crossed.
Then arms parallel, legs crossed. Practicing combined movements of the eyes, tongue, head, arms and legs.
12. "Goslings". A "goose" step with a straight back is practiced in four directions (forward, backward, right, left). The same with a flat object on the head. After working out, multidirectional movements of the head, tongue, and eyes are included.
13. I.p. - standing, straight arms extended forward. One hand palm up, the other down. The child begins to march, changing the position of the palms with each step. The same, but change of palms after a step, then after two. After mastering, various oculomotor exercises are added in various combinations.
14. I.p. - standing on all fours. The child straightens and lifts one leg above the floor, takes it first to one side, then to the other side. The rest of the body is motionless. The same with closed eyes. After mastering, simultaneously with the leg, the opposite hand is extended forward. Then eponymous.
Prepared by:
FC instructor
Tikhonova G.
Yu.
Development of gross motor skills in children
Parents, and often teachers, underestimate the need for the development of gross motor skills in children. And it is the basis for the formation of fine motor skills, which is important in preparing for school. Let's figure out what gross motor skills are, why and how to develop them.
Article content:
- What is gross motor skills
- Why develop
- Gross motor disorder in children
- How to develop gross motor skills
- Developmental games and exercises
- Output
What is gross motor skills
Gross motor skills, or general, are active body movements that involve arms, legs, torso, head. In fact, adults use these skills without thinking, and children have to master them gradually.
During the first year of life, the baby develops rapidly and learns to control his body:
- focuses his eyes;
- holds his head;
- controls arms and legs;
- is learning to sit;
- crawling;
- tries to get up;
- walks, runs, jumps.
The success of all these important processes depends on the health and life of the child.
- By the age of 2, a child masters complex general motor skills of arms and legs. The kid throws and kicks objects. Holding hands, he climbs the stairs.
- Children at the age of 3 learn to walk, run, jump more confidently.
Gross motor skills are formed through any movement: active games, copying the actions of adults and animals, sports, dancing, aerobics.
It is important to start working with your child as early as possible. The good physical development of a preschooler is the key to his further success in school, life and the ability to avoid many problems.
Read also: what a child at the age of 2 should know and be able to do
Why develop
Without developed gross motor skills, a full-fledged formation of a person is impossible. Benefits of developing motor skills:
- strengthen the musculoskeletal system;
- improve coordination;
- provide muscle protein synthesis;
- stimulate cognitive activity;
- increase efficiency;
- develop independence;
- improve speech;
- help develop reading and writing skills;
- motivate to vigorous activity;
- form interhemispheric interaction;
- develop creativity;
- contribute to successful socialization;
- are taught to control their body in space;
- contribute to the knowledge of the world and themselves.
As you can see, the value of developing gross motor skills is great. This work allows you to preserve and increase the physical and mental development of children.
Difficulties of a child with gross motor deficiency
Each child is individual and his development is uneven. It is better not to compare your child with other children. One child may start walking at 9 months and another after a year. This is fine. The main thing is to exercise regularly with the baby. However, there are criteria by which it can be determined that a child has poorly developed gross motor skills:
- drawing and writing skills are difficult;
- inability to dress and use cutlery independently;
- inability to maintain a sitting posture;
- loses orientation in space: falls, stumbles, crashes;
- lethargy;
- does not speak well;
- cannot play with small toys;
- fails to switch to a new activity;
- low self-esteem;
- is hard to communicate with peers.
If gross motor impairment is suspected, see a physician for correction.
How to develop
The main objectives of the development of gross motor skills are:
- creation of conditions for the implementation of the child's motor activity;
- development of skills to control and manage movements;
- learning coherence of actions;
- development of motor activity.
Based on the tasks, parents need to equip the space in the room, stock up on the necessary equipment and control the process. The room should have enough space for running, jumping, bending. Start with the simplest: teach your baby to do morning exercises. If you can do it outside, even better. Simple exercises are quite enough: squats, walking, turns, bends.
Buy a variety of equipment for outdoor games: balls, jump ropes, hoop. At home with a child, you can play skittles, basketball, gorodki, dodgeball.
The ideal option would be to arrange a special sports corner in the room. If this is not available, you can simply dance to your favorite music, alternating slow and fast movements.
For walks on the street, stock up on a bicycle, scooter, roller skates and other equipment according to age. In winter - skates, skis, slides. In addition, for the development of the child's motor activity, you can sign up for the nearest children's center or sports section, where ideal conditions are created for a full-fledged formation.
The development of gross motor skills is also facilitated by household chores. It is necessary to load the child with feasible chores around the house. For example, sweep the floor, wipe off the table, arrange toys, hang or fold laundry.
Games and exercises for the development of gross motor skills
There is a great variety of exercises and games for the development of speech and gross motor skills. These can be exercises to strengthen the muscular corset, to coordinate to create spatial representations in preschool children.
Games are played in pairs or groups.
- Boat. Lying on the back with outstretched arms. The child needs to simultaneously raise straight arms, head and legs. Hold the pose for as long as possible. The same exercise can be done lying on your stomach.
- Log. Starting position as in the previous exercise. Roll with the whole body alternately to the right and left side.
- Lying on your stomach, put your hands behind your head. Elbows apart. Slowly raise your upper body while keeping your legs straight.
- "Spider". Squat down, palms lean behind. Crawl like an insect.
- Goose step. Squatting position, only hands on knees. Walk in different directions: forward, backward, left, right. You can complicate the exercise by putting a flat object on your head.
- Narrow Path. Lay out a long rope on the floor with bends and turns. Invite the child to walk along it.
On an imaginary track, you can roll cars and other toys. - Stand alternately on the right and left legs, on the toes, on the heels. Make a "swallow".
- March in place with high legs.
- Exercises with cross movements of arms and legs.
- "Hit the target." The game develops the eye well. You can purchase a traditional ring thrower or build your own from improvised material. Any container where you need to throw objects at a distance will do. This also includes options for bowling, towns, skittles.
- Ball games or fitball exercises.
Also find out what are the exercises for the development of fine motor skills in children.
Conclusion
Gross motor skills are the motor skills a child needs for full physical and mental development. Abilities are formed from an early age through simple exercises, housework, outdoor games and active sports activities.
