Gross Motor Skills

Gross motor skills are the abilities that a person acquires during infancy and early childhood as a part of the motor development of a person. It is during childhood that a person slowly and gradually learns and masters motor skills. The ability to stand up, walk, run, jump, climb and other such skills are all built upon, improved and better controlled in early childhood and continues to get better and refined throughout an individual’s years of development into adulthood. There are certain large muscle groups and body movements that initiate these gross movements in a person, therefore it is essential on the part of the parents to provide enough opportunities to their kids to play, jump, hop and run around for their muscles to gain strength and facilitate the gross developmental process. This article focuses on the various aspects of development of gross motor skills and brings forth the importance and usefulness of outdoor activities for kids under developing stages of their lives.

Development Of Gross Motor Skills

Development Of Posture
Postural control is a must in a person in order to attain proper gross motor skills. Babies need to control their heads in order to stabilize their sight and ability to track movements.

Learning To Walk
Another stage of development incorporated in gross motor skills is the ability to balance, stand and walk. Parents will have to support their offspring in strengthening their neural pathways that controls walking action.

Development In The Second Year
At the age of 2 toddlers become more active with their motor skills developing significantly. This is a stage which is crucial for their motor skills to develop fully. Therefore, safety and not restriction of movements should be levied on toddlers. 

Childhood
Once the toddler grows up to become a preschooler he/she no more needs any support to stand up or move. This is the stage where children enjoy simple movements like, jumping, hopping, running etc. This stage helps in strengthening the moving abilities of kids.

Adolescence And Adulthood
Adolescence is the time when the gross motor skills continue to get better. The time period between adolescence and adulthood is the peak of physical performance. 

Gross Motor Skills Activities

Dancing
One of the simplest exercises that can help the kids is dancing. Kids can be made to dance in groups; they can be made to jump, hop and other simple dance steps. By these undemanding dancing steps children will learn many motor skills like balance and control. 

Swimming And Water Games
Kids are ready to take up swimming and other water exercises at the age of four. Swimming and water games are one of the most interesting and useful exercises for kids.

Playing With Balls
Children who have just started sitting and crawling can be made to play with balls of different textures. One of the games which you can play with your kid is to throw the ball and encourage them to bring it back. This will motivate the kids to crawl and will slowly give them the motivation and strength to stand upright.

Batting Techniques
You can also make kids practice batting techniques with the help of small rackets, bats or sticks. Children can be made to dribble the ball and pass on the ball with the help of the bat. This will strengthen their muscles and will also facilitate and improve their hand-eye coordination. 

Running
Running is another activity that helps develop and strengthen the motor skills in children. You can invent new games to make the child run quickly. 

Climbing
Climbing is another activity that helps in developing gross motor skills in kids. Climbing games will help the kids develop better grip and balance. You can take the kids to park and ask them to climb on the square bars etc.