Motor skills are important for baby’s physical strength and movement.
Motor skills are used every day throughout our lives. They help us move and do everything from lifting heavy items to typing on a keyboard. Motor skills and motor control begin developing after birth, and will progress as children grow.
Having good motor control also helps children explore the world around them, which can help with many other areas of development.
Motor skills are broken up into two categories: gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Mastering both are important for children’s growth and independence.
Gross motor skills are movements related to large muscles such as legs, arms, and trunk.
Example:
Fine motor skills are movements involving smaller muscle groups such as those in the hand and wrist.
Example:
A child needs motor skills to:
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- Be able to move and complete tasks independently
- Be able to explore the world around them, which promotes cognitive, speech, and sensory development
- Give them confidence and independence, which promotes skills such as executive function
- Meet developmental milestones
- Possibly help prevent early motor delays and conditions that can interrupt development
When should my baby start developing motor skills?
As a newborn! They will begin developing core motor skills as soon as they start moving.
How often should my child work on their motor skills?
The answer is Every day!
As your child get older, it will be working with their motor skills every day just by going about their daily routine and getting more involved in activities! However, for infants and toddlers, they may need extra stimulation to work their motor skills. Make sure you are encouraging physical movement and development of these skills on a daily basis.
What are some important motor milestones?
All motor milestones are important! Which means it’s crucial to ensure your baby is meeting their milestones. The achievement of one milestone tends to lead to another. So, for example, while babies typically do not crawl until 7-9 months, they achieve plenty of other milestone so they have the strength and confidence to crawl.
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