Caretoy Child Development

Concept: Fine- motor skills Definition and explanation: According to the textbook, fine- motor development has to do with smaller movements, such as reaching and grasping (Berk, p.181). Reaching and grasping allow infants and toddlers to discover new objects and become more curious about the world. For example, when a child grabs a new toy she immediately starts to look at the toy and observe it from different angles which allows the child to learn how to approach new scenarios. These fine- motor skills encourage them to develop new motor skills that will continue to grow as they grow older.

Physical development in children is an important area and is usually expected to happen automatically as they grow. The important areas are gross motor skills,

At 1 year, babies are able to sit up and feed themselves using fingers. They also know what they like and do not like, food that they don’t like usually ends up on the floor. Babies are now able to understand more of what is going on and communicate with long strings of babble.

vBetween the ages of 2 and 4 year a child will have greatly improved both their gross and fine motor skills. Most young children can jump off the ground with both feet. They can walk up and down stairs with both feet on one step and run without falling. Some children may also be able to pedal a tricycle, aim, throw and catch a large ball and walk on their tiptoes. Toddlers may also be able to follow a simple dancing rhythm. Fine motor skills of a young child between 2 and 4 years may include drawing circles and dots, drawing faces and turning a single page in a book. They are capable of using a spoon to feed themselves, can thread large beads and undo buttons. By the time a child is 4 they are capable of drawing more detailed pictures of people and can cut around an object with scissors.

Children develop in many ways including through physical activity, mental activity and interaction with others (Roode, 1). According to a January 2007 clinical

What began as involuntary movement and reflexes at birth, by 6 months have become voluntary movements. By 2 years the fine motor skills are beginning to develop. Gross motor skills involve the large muscles of the body that enable such functions as crawling, kicking, sitting upright and rolling over. It is a little harder for an infant to walk because they are top heavy and their thighs are too big to support their little feet. Most infants, starting at nine months begins to learn how to walk. Fine motor skills are necessary to engage in smaller, more precise movements, normally using the hands and fingers. Fine motor skills are different than gross motor skills which require less precision to perform. This is the child's ability to use small muscles, specifically their hands and fingers, to pick up small objects, hold a spoon, turn pages in a book, or use a crayon to draw.

Children develop gross motor skills at different age norms which are affected by their culture and can vary (Berger, 2014). In order to gain information, we need to educate and understand this development, we have to conduct research. We are looking for new information and theories. Although surveys are a great way to collect a large amount of data the information gained is only as sound as the subject. This is why we need other avenues for research, and we need parental support to make that happen.

So many children this day in age, are sat in front of a television or a tablet and expected to keep quiet. Children are built to explore, move, and learn from their experiences, and this cannot happen when a child is inside, being distracted by technology. No matter how busy parents are, they should find at least thirty minutes a day to go outside and play with their children. If the weather does not permit outside play, then playing games inside is always a great alternative. Parents should be encouraging their children to develop the motor skills that they are going to need in order to succeed in school and later in life. Many parents encourage the development of their children’s gross motor skills by involving them in sports, dance, or gymnastics. These programs are great for not only teaching children how to be good at something they love, but they also encourage children to develop their motor skills. If parents find that they cannot afford programs such as these, they can focus on providing multiple opportunities for play. For example, one day they could go to the park or they could go over the neighbor’s house to play. Ultimately, the best thing that parents can do to encourage the development of their children’s motor skills is to allow them to play as much as possible and to allow them to try new activities, even if they are

As children’s bodies become more streamlined and less top-heavy, their center of gravity shifts downwards toward the trunk. As a result, balance improves greatly, paving the way for new motor skills involving large muscles of the body. (Berk, 1999) During the preschool years until approximately age seven, fundamental motor skills develop including the locomotor skills needed to run, jump, hop, and skip. Also the object control skills such as throwing, catching, and kicking are developing. By the age of six or seven, children begin to integrate two or more of these skills. Though all children will not develop these skills at the same age, they will follow the same sequence.

Motor skills involve movement of muscle in the body (John, 2009). These are larger movements such as crawling, running, and jumping (John, 2009). Most of the gross motor development occurs during childhood (John, 2009). Gross motor skills have two principals that determent how a child will regularly develop (Center of diseases Control and Prevention, 2016). Head to toe development this means the upper parts of the body will develop before the lower parts of the body (John, 2009). Children develop these skills throughout play (John, 2009). A tree year old Toddler can be very active therefore participating in activity that require movement, coordination, and balance can be beneficial to help a toddler to develop their motor skills (Jan, Beth & Melissa, 2012). A 3 year old child can throw a ball but catching it is more difficult. They start walking with good posture similar to an adult; they can also walk backwards (Jan, Beth & Melissa, 2012). A 3 year old can run which required strength and balance, during running they should be able to rotate their trunk and swing their arms (John, 2009). By the age of 3 a child walks up and down stairs alternating their feet without support which is possible because their balance has increase (John, 2009). A 3 year old child also learns to jump from a step and learn to jump forward (Center of diseases Control and Prevention, 2016). They start hopping at the age of 3 ½ and also can stand on one foot (Center of diseases Control and Prevention, 2016). Skipping requires sequencing and rhythm which makes it more difficult this include step and hop patterns.

As children progress through the early stages of their lives they will continually reach milestones that are somewhat of a tracker as to where they stand in their development, but at the same time it’s important to remember that even though there are suggested milestones as to a maturing task for a specific age and month, each child may mature differently than the next. One part of this progress that children will continually develop through in the early stages of their lives is motor skill development, which is the use of their larger and smaller muscles to perform adult like tasks. More specifically this development can be categorized into fine and

There are many physical advantages to gross motor skill development that play a role both in childhood and throughout the rest of that individual’s lifetime. Motor skills that are developed in infancy are essential steps to continue to build motor skills throughout childhood (Burns et al., 2017). In order to have the best physical potential to be able to carry out daily activities, gross motor skills are where this all begins. To have optimal function, an individual must learn how to control their movements with poise and rhythm.

A child also starts using gross and fine motor skills in sporting activities. Fine motor skills include using the small muscles that are found in the hands, arms, and fingers to use and control tools and materials. Gross motor skills involve controlling the head, trunk, legs, and arms. An early childhood professional

Fine motor skills refer to the ‘small muscles’ in the hands. Proper development of these muscles is crucial for children to succeed academically in writing and self help skills. According to the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC), “Fine motor skills form an important foundation for the acquisition of many other skills, including literacy, numeracy, self-help and the ability to perform many everyday tasks” (2008). Children start to develop motor skills from birth, and the ways in which children’s muscles develop will later affect their motor function. Caretakers often look for the typical milestones that infants develop; however, infants acquire development at different rates benefiting child growth. From birth through the early grades (preschool to second grade) children are constantly using their fine motor skills to eat, dress themselves, and in social settings such as school. These skills link to infancy development and are factors in knowing how well children will succeed. The following sub-topics address fine motor development and the importance of occupational therapy interventions:

This is because they are born with the same set of muscles and bones that they learn how to use – the “nature” part of motor development. However, it is important to notice that the rate of learning these motor skills differ due to the “nurture” side of development. For example, an infant that practices walking with its parent may start walking on its own earlier than another infant that received no help. Also, an infant that receives much visual and auditory stimulation, such as playing with toys, develops its motor skills faster than an infant that received none.