Developing motor skills

Our 21-month-old is showing great interest in developing a different kind of motor skills ...

-Stef

Motor skills

As parents we get to hear lots about developing motor skills (usually fine or gross) ... and then there are motor skills of a different kind!

There comes a time in every father’s life when they realise their little girl is growing up. She is nearly as tall as you are, can develop strong arguments and the mother-daughter thing can get explosive – particularly at certain times of the month.

She isn’t quite 15 yet but one day asks the question. "Dad, could you maybe take me to a car park and show me how to drive?" When I was young my father let me move the car up and down our driveway well before I was 15. I remember him whacking me for swerving for a dog that ran out when we went on our first on-road outing. Luckily my school had a drivers’ education program so the stress of learning went down for him and me. My experiences led me to believe that learning basic vehicle handling before facing traffic is a good thing.

How do you keep a young active mind stimulated?

Whist numbers and colours where initially great this little lady is growing very fast and learns lots of different things all the time. Her mind is a sponge and we are the water.

So I asked a friend who is an Early Childcare Educator as I was thinking maybe I should be doing something more – I read the articles from SPARC on our website also, but like I said felt that there could be more done. She gave me an interesting photocopied read from R Hargreaves (2000) called “Growing Up” , I have copied a few of the things that I think fathers might want to gauge where there child is at but remember every child is different.

- Scott

By 3 Months

SPARC Active Movement - Part 4: Developing fine motor skills

Why are fine motor skills important?
Fine motor skills are important because children need them for activities like writing, playing instruments and playing sport later in their lives.

Once a child can hold a pencil or cricket bat without having to think of "how" to hold it, they can then concentrate on what they are going to write, or how they are going to hit the ball with the bat. This is called automaticity, which is the ability to do something without thinking about it.

It's important to note that being active isn't just about doing full-on physical things and playing sport. It's anything and everything involved in moving your body and having body awareness. For example, in younger children it's about knowing where their fingers are and what they can do.

SPARC aims to develop the skills in our children to be active and healthy from a holistic perspective – so it's about food and lifestyle too.

SPARC Active Movement - Part 3: Active movement in the water

Why is active movement in water important for children?
Active movement stimulates the senses and helps develop a life-long interest in being physically active.

Active movement in water helps develop readiness for children to learn to swim. Water plays a big part in our lifestyle in New Zealand so learning to swim is really important.

Active movement in water also helps us to teach children safety around water.

How does water make a difference that helps in development?
Water provides a multi-sensory experience – it’s wet, smooth, silent. The sensation of water pressure and buoyancy is different from the air – so it’s a different experience. Different experiences ensure maximum stimulation of the brain which enhances the growth of mind, body and soul.

SPARC Active Movement - Part 2: walking and locomotor activities for children

What are locomotor skills and why are they important?
Locomotor skills include activities like walking, running, jumping, hopping and skipping – it involves moving the body from one location to another.

Locomotor skills are important as they help children to build their confidence and competence – both in sport and in relation to their general feelings about their body.
Basic locomotor skills also allow children to master other sports and activities.

Why are we seeing a decline in these sorts of skills?
Children learn when they practice or experience something for themselves, and we as parents are not building in enough opportunities for our kids to explore and practice locomotor skills. We’re also not letting our children take as many risks as we did in previous generations.

What things can you do to help children develop locomotor skills?