This chapter discusses motor skill development in infants and children. It explains that large motor skills involve whole body movements like sitting, crawling, and walking. Small motor skills involve finer hand and finger movements like grasping. The chapter outlines the typical progression of motor milestones from reflexes to locomotion. It emphasizes allowing children to develop at their own pace through play and exploration. The chapter also notes the importance of experience in shaping brain development and motor skills.

1. Chapter 7:
Motor Skills
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

2. Physical Growth and Motor Skills
• Though physical growth is generally predictable,
each child is unique.
• Different parts of the body grow at different rates.
– At birth the head accounts for 1/4 of the body.
– By age 2 the head is only 1/5 of the body.
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3. Physical Growth and Motor Skills
• Stability of the body is explained by:
• Cephalocaudal development
– Growth starts with the head and moves down to the rest of the
body.
– The first muscles to develop are those that control head
movements.
• Proximaldistal development
– Growth starts towards the center of the body and moves outward.
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4. Brain Growth and Motor Development
• At birth, the brain weighs only 25% of its adult
weight.
• By age three, the brain is 90% of its adult weight.
• Myelinization is the process by which brain fat
(myelin) coats and insulates the neural fibers.
• Myelinization accounts for rapid gain in overall
brain size after birth.
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5. Brain Growth and Motor Development
• In infancy, neurons in the brain move around and
become arranged by function.
• The subcortical levels are fully developed at birth.
– The subcortical levels are responsible for reflexes and
fundamental activities like breathing and heart rate.
• There are particularly sensitive periods for
development, but it is never too late for a child to
benefit from quality experiences.
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6. Brain Growth and Motor Development
• Current brain research shows:
– Movement develops as early as 6 weeks gestation as
a result of both nature and nurture.
– More neural connections and experience foster more
coordination and stronger muscles.
– Increased myelinization influences development of fine
motor skills.
– Experience helps form brain circuitry and is essential in
fine tuning the young brain’s ability to respond to the
environment.
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7. Reflexes
• Reflexes serve as the basis for later movement.
• The appearance and delay of certain reflexes
help us learn about infants’ development.
What reflexes are present at birth?
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8. Large Motor Skills and Locomotion
• Infants eventually progress from reflexive
movements to voluntary movements.
• Large or gross motor skills have to do with large
muscles and big movements.
• Small or fine motor skills have to do with small
muscles and more delicate movements.
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9. Large Motor Skills and Locomotion
• Locomotion is the ability to move from one place to
another.
• Stability is the means to mobility.
– Infants can’t move until they have a solid base.
• You don’t need to teach typically developing children how
to sit or walk.
– Allow babies to focus on their own body and inner motivation.
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10. Large Motor Skills and Locomotion
When infants’ muscles grow, they achieve strength
and balance, their brain matures, and they put
together the skills that lead to walking.
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11. Small Motor Skills and Manipulation
• Manipulation is the development of hands and
fingers.
• Along with manipulation, children gradually begin
to have control of the small muscles in their
mouth, bladder, rectum, feet, toes, and eyes.
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12. Small Motor Skills and Manipulation
• During the first six months, infants can’t
necessarily control their grasping reflex.
• Eventually babies can grab an object within
reach.
– Palmer grasp
– Pincer grasp (with thumb and forefinger)
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13. Small Motor Skills and Manipulation
• Ways to encourage small motor skills include:
– Encouraging self-help tasks
– Providing tactile experiences
– Providing experiences with objects that let children
grasp, hold, scoop, pour, and squeeze
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14. Fostering Motor Development
• Encourage infants to practice what they know
how to do.
• Allow babies to move into positions themselves.
• Avoid rescuing babies. See if they can get out of
an uncomfortable position on their own.
• No need to push development.
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15. Fostering Motor Development
• Do keep children in the position is which they are
most free and least helpless.
• Do provide toddlers with opportunities to wander,
carry, dump, climb, and move in a variety of
ways.
• Do appreciate that children will practice if given
the freedom to do so.
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16. Children with Special Needs
• Finding Resources
– Arc of United States – NACD
– Association to Benefit – NICHCY
Children – New Horizons for Learning
– Consortium for Citizens with – Pacer Center
Disabilities – Special Education News
– Disability-Related Sources on – SERI
the Web – Family Center on Technology
– Division for Early Childhood and Disability
– Family Village – National Center for Learning
– Institute on Community Disabilities
Integration Projects – Zero to Three
– LDA … And many more
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17. Online Learning Center
• See Chapter 7 of the text’s Online Learning
Center for chapter quizzes, Theory Into Action
activities, Video Observations, and more.
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