Gross Motor Skills

Large Muscles

Gross motor skills are movements that help your child develop large muscle control in the arms and legs.

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Listen

Activity

Mom and Brandon are on the floor of the living room doing some stretches and exercises together. Mom lies down on the floor like a log and rolls toward the couch. “Your turn,” Mom says to Brandon. Mom helps Brandon lie down on the floor to stretch his arms up and keep his legs straight like a log. Then Mom gives Brandon a little push so that he rolls along the floor. As Brandon begins to roll over, he immediately puts his feet up and arm out, causing him to stop. Brandon then continues to rock back and forth from one side to the other with his feet in the air.

Insight

With this simple movement, Brandon is demonstrating his gross motor skills. His waist and legs are moving together; however, at this age, Brandon is unaware that keeping his legs in the air stops his ability to roll over completely. Brandon wants to put his arms and legs out because he thinks that he will keep rolling and not stop. When Brandon gets older and has more control over his gross motor movements he will feel more comfortable let ting himself roll.

Your child will use his body to learn how to interact with large objects in his environment (e.g. stairs on a jungle gym).

Gross motor development plays a role in making sure that your child remains healthy as he keeps his body moving. Physical abilities that are examples of gross motor development include crawling, walking, jumping, and rolling.

An example of a jumping activity you can do with your child at home is hopping up and down like a frog.Your toddler is still exploring his gross motor movements and experimenting with using different parts of his body in new ways. Because your child is still developing his balance and coordination it is important that you provide support by letting your child know that you are present to help him safely test his physical limits. This will build trust between you and your toddler and make him feel more confident in further practicing and developing his gross motor movements.

Your toddler is still exploring his gross motor movements and experimenting with using different parts of his body in new ways.

Because your child is still developing his balance and coordination it is important that you provide support by letting your child know that you are present to help him safely test his physical limits. This will build trust between you and your toddler and make him feel more confident in further practicing and developing his gross motor movements.

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