6.1 Motor Development
Learning Objectives
- Explain gross and fine motor skills in infants
- Describe improvements in gross and fine motor skills in early and middle childhood
Infancy
Motor development occurs in an orderly sequence as infants move from reflexive reactions (e.g., sucking and rooting) to more advanced motor functioning. As mentioned during the prenatal section, development occurs according to the Cephalocaudal (from head to tail) and Proximodistal (from the midline outward) principles. For instance, babies first learn to hold their heads up, then to sit with assistance, then to sit unassisted, followed later by crawling, pulling up, cruising or walking while holding on to something, and then unassisted walking (Eisenberg et al., 1989). As motor skills develop, there are certain developmental milestones that young children should achieve. For each milestone there is an average age, as well as a range of ages in which the milestone should be reached. An example of a developmental milestone is a baby holding up its head. Babies on average are able to hold up their heads at 6 weeks old, and 90% of babies achieve this between 3 weeks and 4 months old. On average, most babies sit alone at 7 months. Sitting involves both coordination and muscle strength, and 90% of babies achieve this milestone between 5 and 9 months old. If the child is displaying delays on several milestones, that is reason for concern, and the parent or caregiver should check in with the child’s pediatrician. Developmental delays can be identified and addressed through early intervention.
Motor Skills refer to our ability to move our bodies and manipulate objects. Gross motor skills focus on large muscle groups that control our head, torso, arms and legs and involve larger movements (e.g., balancing, running, and jumping). These skills begin to develop first. Examples include moving to bring the chin up when lying on the stomach, moving the chest up, and rocking back and forth on hands and knees. But it also includes exploring an object with one’s feet as many babies do as early as 8 weeks of age if seated in a carrier or other device that frees the hips. This may be easier than reaching for an object with the hands, which requires much more practice (Berk, 2007). Sometimes an infant will try to move toward an object while crawling and surprisingly move backward because of the greater amount of strength in the arms than in the legs.
Fine motor skills focus on the muscles in our fingers, toes, and eyes, and enable coordination of small actions (e.g., grasping a toy, writing with a pencil, and using a spoon). Newborns cannot grasp objects voluntarily but do wave their arms toward objects of interest. At about 4 months of age, the infant is able to reach for an object, first with both arms and within a few weeks, with only one arm. At this age grasping an object involves the use of the fingers and palm, but no thumbs. This is known as the Palmer Grasp. The use of the thumb comes at about 9 months of age when the infant is able to grasp an object using the forefinger and thumb. Now the infant uses a Pincer Grasp, and this ability greatly enhances the ability to control and manipulate an object. Infants take great delight in this newfound ability. They may spend hours picking up small objects from the floor and placing them in containers. By 9 months, an infant can also watch a moving object, reach for it as it approaches, and grab it.
Table 6.1. Timeline of Developmental Milestones[1][2]
| Age | Developmental Milestone |
|---|---|
| ~2 months | Can hold head upright on own Smiles at sound of familiar voices and follows movement with eyes |
| ~3 months | Can raise head and chest from prone position Smiles at others Grasps objects Rolls from side to back |
| ~4-5 months | Babbles, laughs, and tries to imitate sounds Begins to roll from back to side |
| ~6 months | Moves objects from hand to hand |
| ~7-8 months | Can sit without support May begin to crawl Responds to own name Finds partially hidden objects |
| ~8-9 months | Walks while holding on Babbles “mama” and “dada” Claps |
| ~11-12 months | Stands alone Begins to walk Says at least one word Can stack two blocks |
| ~18 months | Walks independently Drinks from a cup Says at least 15 words Points to body parts |
| ~2 years | Runs and jumps Uses two-word sentences Follows simple instructions Begins make-believe play |
| ~3 years | Speaks in multi-word sentences Sorts objects by shape and color |
| ~4 years | Draws circles and squares Rides a tricycle Gets along with people outside of the family Gets dressed |
| ~5 years | Can jump, hop, and skip Knows name and address Counts ten or more objects |
Link to Learning: Developmental Milestones
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes the developmental milestones for children from 2 months through 5 years old on their website. After reviewing the information, take the CDC’s Developmental Milestones quiz to see how well you recall what you’ve learned. If you are a parent with concerns about your child’s development, contact your pediatrician.
Try It
Early and Middle Childhood
Early childhood is a time of development of both gross and fine motor skills. During this period, children are especially attracted to motion and song. Days are filled with moving, jumping, running, swinging and clapping, and every place becomes a playground. Even the booth at a restaurant affords the opportunity to slide around in the seat or disappear underneath and imagine being a sea creature in a cave! Of course, this can be frustrating to a caregiver, but it’s the business of early childhood. Children may frequently ask their caregivers to “look at me” while they hop or roll down a hill. Children’s songs are often accompanied by arm and leg movements or cues to turn around or move from left to right. Running, jumping, dancing movements, etc. all afford children the ability to improve their gross motor skills.
Fine motor skills are also being refined in activities such as pouring water into a container, drawing, coloring, and using scissors. Some children’s songs promote fine motor skills as well (have you ever heard of the song “itsy, bitsy, spider”?). Mastering the fine art of cutting one’s own fingernails or tying their shoes will take a lot of practice and maturation. Fine motor skills continue to develop in middle childhood, but for preschoolers, the type of play that deliberately involves these skills is emphasized.
During middle childhood, physical growth slows down. One result of the slower rate of growth is an improvement in motor skills. Children of this age tend to sharpen their abilities to perform both gross motor skills such as riding a bike and fine motor skills such as cutting their fingernails.
Watch It
Watch this video to see examples of gross motor development during early childhood.
You can view the transcript for “Early Childhood Gross Motor Development ch8” here (opens in new window).
Link to Learning: Organized Sports – Pros and Cons
Middle childhood seems to be a great time to introduce children to organized sports. And in fact, many parents do. Nearly 3 million children play soccer in the United States. This activity promises to help children build social skills, improve athletically, and learn a sense of competition. It has been suggested, however, that the emphasis on competition and athletic skill can be counterproductive and lead children to grow tired of the game and want to quit. In many respects, it appears that children’s activities are no longer children’s activities once adults become involved and approach the games as adults rather than children. The U.S. Soccer Federation recently advised coaches to reduce the amount of drilling engaged in during practice and to allow children to play more freely and to choose their own positions. The hope is that this will build on their love of the game and foster their natural talents.
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References (Click to expand)
Berk, L. (2007). Development Through the Lifespan (4th ed.) (pp 137). Pearson Education.
Eisenberg, A., Murkoff, H. E., & Hathaway, S. E. (1989). What to expect the first year. Workman Publishing.
Rauh, Sherry (n.d.). Is Your Baby on Track? WebMD. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/features/is-your-baby-on-track#1.
Licenses & Attributions (Click to expand)
CC Licensed Content
- OER Attribution: “Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective, Second Edition” by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French is licensed under a CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0
- “Physical Development in Early Childhood.” Authored by: Stephanie Loalada for Lumen Learning. Provided by: Lumen Learning. Located at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-lifespandevelopment/chapter/physical-development-in-early-childhood/. License: CC BY: Attribution
- Psyc 200 Lifespan Psychology. Authored by: Laura Overstreet. Located at: http://opencourselibrary.org/econ-201/. License: CC BY: Attribution
- “Physical Development in Middle Childhood.” Authored by: Stephanie Loalada for Lumen Learning. Provided by: Lumen Learning. Located at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-lifespandevelopment/chapter/physical-development-in-middle-childhood/. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
Media Attributions
- palmergrasp © jelly is licensed under a CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) license
- kids playing soccer. Located at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport#/media/File:Youth-soccer-indiana.jpg. License: CC BY: Attribution
All Rights Reserved Content
- Early Childhood Gross Motor Development ch8. Authored by: brinsoll. Located at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0697717ZdU. License: Other. License Terms: Standard YouTube License