Early childhood development occurs between birth and 5 years, and during this period a child learns how to coordinate body movements, solve problems and communicate with others. Motor development is just one of the categories of early childhood development, and refers to your child's ability to move and control his body. Although milestones can be helpful for following your child's progress, parents should be aware that all children develop at different rates.
Large Motor Skills
Large motor skills, also known as gross motor skills, refer to a child's ability to use large groups of muscles to move and control the body. These skills are the first to develop in the child's early months of life. During the first 18 months, your child will develop the large motor skills necessary to hold her head up independently, turn her body, crawl, stand, balance and walk. Some large motor skills, such as raking arm movements, develop into small motor skills, such as pointing and grasping with the fingers. As your child grows, she will be able to use large motor skills to walk up and down stairs, run, jump, pedal, catch and throw.
Small Motor Skills
Small motor skills, also referred to as fine motor skills, are the more specialized motions of the arms, hands and fingers that allow a child to hold and manipulate objects. During the first 18 months, children develop the ability to shift objects from one hand to the other, pick up objects, turn pages, color and eat. In the first 5 years, children also use their fine motor skills to dress themselves, use eating utensils, write and draw. Fine motor skills are also involved in childhood play that requires the manipulation of toy objects.
Locomotor Skills
Early childhood motor development can also be divided up into additional categories of large motor skills that involve coordinating the entire body. Locomotor skills are the first stage of early childhood development, and precede more complex and controlled forms of body movement at any age. Locomotor skills include crawling, walking, running, jumping and skipping.
Stability Skills
Stability skills are a second category of large motor skills, and they incorporate the use of balance in body motion. Children develop stability as they learn to turn, twist, bend, roll, swing and dodge. Stopping a locomotive action such as running or jumping is also a stability skill that develops after the child learns the initial locomotor skills.
Manipulation Skills
Manipulation skills are the final phase of large motor development, and incorporate elements of small motor skills such as use of the hands and fingers to manipulate objects. Throwing, catching, kicking, dribbling or using any type of sports implement like a racket or bat are all manipulative motor skills. In order for a child to complete the manipulation phase of motor development, he must have already learned the related locomotor and stability skills since manipulative motor skills require balance and precise control of large groups of muscles.
