Help Your Toddler’s Gross Motor Skills Grow, Safely

Help Your Toddler’s Gross Motor Skills Grow, Safely


Your child’s main window of opportunity for developing his most important motor skills, such as posture and coordination, is during his first two years of life.1 All areas of the brain controlling movement will be wired by age five, though he will continue to improve and refine his gross motor skills through his teen years.2

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! Back to your child’s toddler years: at 2-3 years of age, he has continued to develop his Active, Coordinated Movement skills, building stronger muscle memory and improving the control of his movements. He can run across the yard, starting and stopping easily, as well as jump with both feet, gallop, and walk backwards and sideways.3,4 And, if he isn’t already, he will be able to dance,5 crawl through play tunnels, and coordinate his arm and leg motions while running.

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Your child is also able to use his whole body more comfortably and confidently at this age, because he has developed his kinesthetic sense, an understanding of where his body is positioned with respect to the world around him, and the abilities to feel his movements and maintain balance and control.2 Kinesthetic knowledge allows your child to run around the park, dance to music, and play ball and other physical games. The more he develops and gains control of his arms, hands, fingers, legs, and feet, the stronger his kinesthetic sense will grow, letting him physically interact with the world around him with ease.

To help your child continue to develop his Active, Coordinated Movement skills and kinesthetic sense, consider moving together to music, such as dancing to songs that direct active movements (e.g. “The Hokey Pokey”), adding actions like swaying, hand motions, arm circles, foot stomping, etc. to music with rhythmic beats, or just dancing freely with any song.Challenge his coordination by asking him to carry out two or more actions at the same time, such as marching around the room while clapping or beating a toy drum or walking around in a circle while flapping his arms and quacking like a duck. Promote balance by encouraging him to dress and undress himself every day, walk on a line or low balance beam, and play hopscotch or jump in place.

It is important with all this activity to make sure that your child’s play areas are free from hazards. Consider your hometown and the physical features of the landscape. Do you live in an area where you have to be aware of wild animals, snakes, or biting insects? Do you live in a climate which requires sunscreen or warm clothing for protection?

For environments that you cannot control and childproof, such as a playground, talk to your child about the dangers and safety concerns before he starts playing. Is your playground on top of a canyon or along a river or creek? Is the playground surface soft or is it blacktop? Discuss any existing safety hazards and risks for injuries, and set clear boundaries.

Even for indoor play, be sure your toddler understands that while he may crawl on the couch, he may not climb on the glass table or the stairway banister under any circumstances. Once his comfort and safety have been secured, he will be able to focus all energy on enjoying his play time.

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Play Tips:

Do you want to know how you can support your child’s development of these Active, Coordinated Movements and Safety and Personal Care skills at this age? It’s easy! Read on for some simple tips to incorporate into your daily play time together.

  1. Provide plenty of opportunities for active indoor and outdoor play.3 Support full body active play that engages your child in dancing, marching, moving around the room, running, climbing, and swinging outside. This is also a good age to introduce him to tumbling classes that with help and supervision will teach him to do somersaults and body rolls on mats. If the weather is unfriendly for outdoor play, indoor games such as Hide and Seek, Freeze Dance, and Hall Ball can provide your toddler with the movement practice and energy release he needs on a rainy day!
  2. Play motion instruction games. Activities like Red Rover and Simon Says encourage a variety of whole body motion activities and develop your child’s language skills in listening and following instructions. Be sure to incorporate commands that use prepositions (i.e. words that describe a position in space such as “up,” “down,” “over,” “under,” “around,” and “through”) to help expand his range of motions and his vocabulary knowledge.3
  3. Offer a variety of activities and materials that develop spatial awareness. To help create spatial awareness, use play props in physical activities, such as scarves, streamers, and hula hoops. You can also go to the local park and encourage him to use the swing and slide or turn on some music and hold his hands while you dance together. Ask him to imitate animals by hopping like a frog or flapping his arms like a bird as he “flies” around in slow circles. By engaging your child in these fun motor activities, he will develop greater control of his body and awareness of his motions in space.
  4. Provide a safe play area with clear boundaries. Think about where you are, what the weather is like, what the natural terrain is like, and what types of hazards might exist before going out to play, and talk about them in advance. This is important when playing indoors as well, so keep clear boundaries in mind, such as, “You may hit the metal bowl with the wooden spoon, but not the glass one.”

Developmental Milestones:

Has your baby achieved the following Active, Coordinated Movement and Safety and Personal Care developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all the skill(s) he has already mastered to date using Playful Bee’s developmental milestones tracker. It’s absolutely FREE and easy to use, just click HERE!

  • Runs easily with coordinated control.

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Sources:

1Gabbard, Carl, Ed.D., and Luis Rodrigues. Optimizing Early Brain and Motor Development Through Movement. Early Childhood News. Retrieved on February 14, 2014 from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=360.

2Gellens, Suzanne R. (2013). Building Brains. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.

3Maryland State Department of Education (2010). Healthy Beginnings: Supporting Development and Learning from Birth through Three Years of Age.

4California Department of Education (2009). California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations.

5Oklahoma Child Care Services. Oklahoma Learning Guidelines for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos: Ages 0 through 36 Months.

 

Playful Bee

Education Team at Playful Bee
Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

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