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Motor Development During Early Childhood

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Motor skills and their development during early childhood are a product of the brain, nervous system and muscles all working together to produce a desired movement. There are two main categories of early childhood motor development. They are gross motor development and fine motor development. Gross motor development is large movements and is almost instinctual as a baby gains strength and a desire to explore its surroundings. But, a newborn’s brain is not mature enough to control fine movements. It takes a developing intelligence and awareness to develop fine motor skills and it is the first step to true mastery of self and of an individual’s ability to manipulate their environment.

Fine motor development is the manner in which we use our fingers, hands and arms and involves the smaller muscle groups to perform tasks that are very precise in nature. In order for a baby to develop true freedom, they will need to be able to use both their gross and fine motor skills in unison. Think of the gross motor skill as being the first step in reaching an object, and then the fine motor skill as the end result in finally being able to manipulate that object.

Good vision is also very important to control the movements of the small muscles of the hands and fingers, as eye and hand coordination begin to play a role in …show more content…
True mastery of bilateral coordination comes when a child can “cross the midline”. Crossing the midline is the term that is used to describe when a child is able to cross the midline of their body while completing a task and is important in developing hand dominance and even learning how to read from left to right. This is a clear indicator of how much the brain has matured and that it is developing the skills to master one’s own body

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