Gross motor skills

Developing your child’s gross motor capabilities is the key to letting him explore his world.

A CHILD’S GROSS motor skills development entails learning to use the muscles that control the head, shoulders, arms, back and legs in such a way that he can execute movements accurately and with exact timing. When your child is acquiring these skills, his muscles learn to cooperate with his brain and nervous system to make his body do what he wants it to do. Gross motor skills include balance, eye-hand and eye-foot coordination, integrating his left and right side, strong muscles that can resist pressure, and an awareness of where his body parts are in relation to himself (and space) even when he can’t see them. These key skills are what help your baby make sense of his world and how to move around in it. And as much as we were all born to move, he learns how to do this gradually. Support your child in his natural need for movement.

8 TO 12 MONTHS

Your baby is suddenly mobile. He moves from sitting to crawling and cruising – soon he will walk.

TO AID HIS DEVELOPMENT

■ Hold him under his arms and gently swing him from side to side.

■ Softly bounce baby on your knee or a large yoga ball.

■ Carry him with his tummy draped over your arms.

■ Bicycle his legs.

■ Use out-of-reach toys as temptations to roll over regularly.

■ Similarly, use just-out-of-reach toys to encourage reaching and crawling.

■ Place furniture close enough together so that he can cruise (walk while holding on) from one piece to the next. Gradually widen the space as his confidence grows. Soon he will take a step unassisted!

■ Hold his hands and walk together (ouch to your lower back).

■ Give your baby as much floor time as possible.

12 TO 18 MONTHS

You can look forward to those first steps, and once that milestone has been reached, watch out, because he will rapidly improve and refine his walking. Pretty soon your little explorer will be wanting to climb steps and he can also learn to throw a ball (in a standing position) and try to kick it.

TO AID HIS DEVELOPMENT

■ Help your baby get down stairs by teaching him the bum-first technique: turn him over onto his tummy and place his feet on the step below him.

■ Become a jungle gym. Make a bridge with your body and let your baby crawl through the gap and over your back to sit on top of you.

■ Play horsey with him on your back.

■ Place his feet on yours and walk together while you hold his hands.

■ Let your little one admire himself in a mirror while practising moves.

■ Put your child on a big towel on the floor. You and another adult each grab two corners and gently swing him from side to side.

■ Let your baby sit or lie on a towel while you gently pull him along the floor. He’ll love it! 2 TO 3 YEARS

Your little one is becoming quite the acrobat. He can hop twice on one leg, and stairs no longer present a challenge. He can even walk backwards and stand on one leg for some seconds. He can catch a ball that’s rolled towards him and can also throw a ball accurately at a target about half a metre away. He will start learning to pedal a tricycle and can walk along a straight line for about three metres. He can jump with both feet in the air.

TO AID HIS DEVELOPMENT

■ Encourage your tot to try a forward roll on a soft mat. Provide support and make sure his chin is tucked into his chest when he rolls.

■ Let him hang from a jungle gym horizontal bar or monkey bars, but remain close in case he slips.

■ Provide a miniature pram, trolley or wheelbarrow to push.

■ Get your kiddie a push bike. It strengthens his leg muscles and helps with left-right coordination.

■ Let him ride a rocking horse – it’s good for his upper body strength.

■ Rock him to and fro in a large blanket.

3 TO 4 YEARS

Your clever kid can catch a ball thrown from 1.5m away, bounce it and throw it back with bent elbows. He can climb a jungle gym, slide and swing – all of which is excellent exercise for his large muscle groups. He can get up from crouching without assistance. He gallops, runs, walks, twists and turns and can walk on tippy-toe. He is able to jump up and down on one leg five times and balance on one leg for five seconds. He can jump forward with both feet and ride short distances on his tricycle.

Allow your child ample opportunity to balance, hang, pull, swing, bounce, hop, hit, stretch, bend, run, crawl, jump (up and forwards), roll, turn, climb, kick, slide, roll up into a ball, shake, tumble, catch, lift, jump rope, throw, gallop, skip, lift, push and walk.

TO AID HIS DEVELOPMENT

■ Make your child imitate different animals: gallop like a horse, twist like a worm, jump like a bunny, run like a baboon.

■ Build an obstacle course with hoops for him to squeeze through, chairs under which he must crawl, pillows to roll over, a rope to jump over, a balance beam to walk on, and so on.

■ Play Simon Says, giving your child physical challenges to carry out, such as, “Simon says do a cartwheel” or “Simon says stand on one leg”.

■ Let your child jump on a trampoline.

■ With your child’s hands on the ground, lift his legs and play “wheelbarrow”.

■ Install a balance beam a few centimetres above ground and let your child walk on it. When he masters one height, adjust the beam a little higher on one side so that he practises balancing up- and downhill. He can also try walking backwards and sideways (crabwalking) on the beam.

■ Trace a meandering path with chalk on paved or tiled areas in your home and challenge your child to crawl along the route.

■ Let him jump one-legged around boxes or trees, first on one leg, then the other.

■ Hang sweets or treats on a tree, just out of reach, and make him jump to retrieve the reward.

■ Place low hurdles on a path and let your child jump over them like a horse – or even use a hobby horse.

■ Use balls of different sizes to play with. Encourage your little one to kick with both feet and to practise throwing and catching in a variety of ways.

■ Play tug-of-war!

■ Help your little one do forward rolls.

■ Put on music and skip rope to the beat.

■ Play Twister; it’s a great way to learn left and right, too.

■ Encourage your child to walk, march, hop or jog to the rhythm of some of your

favourite tunes.

■ Place a rope on the ground. The challenge? Your tot must walk on it without falling off.

■ Lay sheets of paper out on the floor and get your child to try to walk across the floor by stepping from one piece of paper to the next. For added points, cut out giant footprints and play with those instead.

■ Encourage your child to ride his bike often. Choose a push bike, trike, or bike (with or without support wheels) depending on his level of ability.