Human Development: Gross and Fine Motor Skills

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Recommended: Stages of development from conception to birth

Development begins in the womb. The fetus develops organs and grows many times its size during this time. Once the child is born it is even more important that the environment helps with normal infant physical and mental growth. At birth, infant senses function through eyes, ears, nose, and tongue. Through these senses they explore their world and sensations occur. Perception occurs when the brain processes these sensations. Infant movements are involuntary (reflexes). Reflexes help the infant survive until they gain control of their body and can make movement for themselves. Infants experience the majority of their growth during the first year. During this time gross and fine motor skills develop. Understanding what these terms mean are very important and a key to your child's successful progression.
Gross motor skills are large muscle movements in the body; such as leg and arm muscles. These movements are easier for a child to control and usually develop faster than fine motor skills. Gross motor movement would be movements like running, walking, skipping, climbing, crawling, rolling over and dancing.
Fine motor skills are movements of small muscles in the body such as the hands. These skills are harder for the infant to develop due to lack of control over these muscles. Some fine motor skill movements are writing, pointing, grasping, holding, and reaching. Fine motor skills are little movements and gradually develop as the infant grows.
As infants grow in size their motor skills improve through body movements. Through fine and gross motor skills infants learn to master movements, such as sitting, crawling, standing, and walking. These sensory and motor skills follow a genetic timetable, which is influenced...

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...ng, will help your children develop their gross and fine motor skills as they should.

Works Cited

Loop, E., (2010). Fine motor and gross motor activities for infants and toddlers. Retrieved from http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/fine-motor-gross-motor-activities-infants-toddlers-8825.html
Oswalt, A., (2008). Early childhood physical development: gross and fine motor development. Retrieved from http://www.bhcmhmr.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=12755&cn=462
Santrock, J. (2012). A topical approach to life-span development, 6th, 154-159. Retrieved from http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0078035139/937734/san35139_ch05.pdf
Who multicenter growth reference study group and de Onis, M. (2006), Relationship between physical growth and motor development in the Who child growth standards. Acta Paediatrica, 95: 96–101. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2006.tb02380.x

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