Physical development consists of gross motor and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills use groups of muscles, such as those involved in walking, while fine motor skills involve using the hands to do tasks, such as pick up food or tie shoes. Not all children achieve the same physical skill milestone at the same age. Your pediatrician can determine whether your child is on track for normal physical development.
Infancy
In the first year, most infants develop gross and fine motor skills rapidly. At birth, an infant can suck, move his head and make grasping motions with his hands. Within the first 3 months, he discovers his own hands and grabs at them. Babies first have motor skill control over their heads, then hands and eventually legs.
Between 3 and 6 months old, most infants roll over, grasp objects and enjoy touching things. Many children can sit upright, pick up objects, throw things and begin to crawl by 9 months. Around age 1, many children begin to walk.
Between ages 1 and 2, fine motor skills improve as children begin to manipulate toys and scribble when given crayons and paper. Gross motor skills at this age include the ability to climb stairs and jump in place.
Toddler Years
As gross motor skills improve between ages 2 and 3, most children learn to run and can kick a ball, though they do these things awkwardly compared to older children. Fine motor skill milestones include turning pages, drawing circular shapes and manipulating clay.
Running and other motion skills improve by age 4 so that most children can avoid obstacles, throw and catch objects and ride a tricycle. They can also create structures with building blocks and draw more complex shapes and lines.
Preschool Age
Between ages 4 and 5, walking skills improve so that the child's walk resembles that of an adult. Children have more control while running and can stop and turn with greater efficiency. They can leap forward repeatedly and balance on one foot. Fine motor skills improve, allowing them to do common preschool tasks such as use scissors, draw a variety of shapes and print capital letters.
Early Childhood
During the early childhood years of ages 5 to 7, gross and fine motor skills become more sophisticated. Most children can climb ladders, jump rope and skip by age 6 as well as kick and throw balls with some directional control. Fine motor skills include the ability to work complex puzzles, draw recognizable objects such as stick figures and print numbers as well as capital and lowercase letters.
Early Adolescence
Children age 8 and up develop increasingly sophisticated athletic skills. Hand-eye coordination improves, and they can ride a bicycle without training wheels, swim and participate in sports. Artistic abilities improve as children refine their fine motor skills; children can manipulate a keyboard and mouse, draw complex images and write in cursive.
