Find out what are gross motor skills and why they are important. Read on to discover how they influence your child’s social skills and cognition.
Learn about gross motor skills and Autism and find out how you can help your child develop and support them.
What are gross motor skills?
Gross motor skills involve large muscles and are usually whole body movements.
Balancing, coordinating your body, strength, and agility are all gross motor skills.
Gross motor skills are the first skills to develop. We usually learn to walk, run and jump before learning to hold a pen or a spoon which are fine motor skills (see my post about them here: How to help your child with writing)
There are different types of gross motor activities:
Locomotor- running, jumping, hopping, leaping, galloping, sliding
Object control- throwing, catching, kicking, dribbling, underhand rolling
Early childhood is a period when children rapidly develop new skills.
Some examples of gross motor skills milestones are:
By the age of 3- your little one can go up and down the stairs (alternating their feet)
By the age of 4 – they can catch a bounced ball, can pedal a tricycle
By age 5, they can gallop leading with one foot, roll like a log, and propel themselves on a swing.
There are sometimes problems in reaching milestones. Gross motor skills deficits can be detected as early as 14 months and become more obvious before a child turns two. It is important to work on them before the child starts school.
Why developing gross motor skills is important?
School
Children with better motor skills are more likely to do well in school than children who encounter difficulties with movement; school might be demanding for them.
Those who find running, jumping, skipping, or catching a ball challenging may appear “clumsy” to other children and might be rejected by their peers. They are less likely to be popular, less confident and willing to participate in sports and games, and may struggle socially.
Social skills
Some studies show that poor motor skills are sometimes associated with poor social skills. If children find it difficult to socialize with their peers and have poor social skills, that may lead to poor self-esteem or anxiety. On the other hand, children who perceive themselves as capable and proficient in gross motor skills also see themselves as socially adept.
Cognition
Although motor skills are movements, they also involve thinking, judging, remembering, and problem-solving processes that create those movements.
Confidence
Gross motor skills are very important for children in developing social skills and feeling good, balanced, and regulated. If their gross motor skills are good, they feel confident in joining in with sports and games with other children.
Self-regulation
Gross motor activities help to improve children’s self-regulation. If children know how to self-regulate easily, they are more likely to be successful later in life and in school. This will help them to focus their attention and to manage their feelings, behaviour, and thinking.
Self-control
One study shows that children who scored higher in object control (like controlling a ball: throwing or catching it), which is one of the elements of gross motor skills, were found to have better self-control. Better self-control is associated with higher chances of success in school and later life.
Executive functions
Developing gross motor skills helps with executive functions that are self-control, working memory, planning, and organizing.
And more
Good gross motor skills help with physical activity, cardiovascular fitness, healthy weight, developing language and academic performance.
Developing gross motor skills help with perception and estimating space.
Gross motor skills and Autism
Some studies found that some children with Autism have poor gross motor skills, which influences their social skills. They are less likely to participate in sports and games with other children, so have fewer chances to develop their social skills.
Children with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) very often find movement challenging. They may have trouble controlling and coordinating their body movements.
Learning gross motor skills happens thanks to the mirror neuron system in the brain. A child will learn by observing and imitating someone else’s movements. Children with ASD might have problems with activating the mirror neuron system.
Do gross motor skills develop differently around the world?
Some studies show that children’s development of gross motor skills may differ depending on their culture and where they grow up.
One study shows that African children reached their motor skills milestones faster than European or American children. It might be because the children are “trained” to develop these skills earlier rather than have them evolve spontaneously like it is done in Scandinavian countries, for example.
Asian parents, on the other hand, tend to be more protective of their children, so with fewer opportunities for exploring and risk-taking, their motor skills might be developed later.
Children living in rural Indonesia were found to have their gross motor skills developed faster than somewhere else because they had more space to play in the natural environment.
What about the environment they grow up in?
Children living in poorer households/neighbourhoods have better gross motor skills (they spend more time outside exploring and playing freely compared to other children with a better economic situation but being driven everywhere and protected and kept indoors more)
Children living with siblings have better gross motor skills because they have more opportunities to learn from them. It is usually the youngest with the most developed skills after they have observed their brothers and sisters.
Another risk factor in developing poor motor skills is being born prematurely.
How to help your child with developing gross motor skills
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Gross motor skills can be improved and stimulated through movement.
Children should have plenty of opportunities to move, run, climb, jump and play.
They can do it by exploring natural outdoor environments and playing freely.
Gardens, parks, forests, and playgrounds are all great places for your child to explore, get to know their bodies, and take risks.
These activities will also help to develop thinking and feeling, problem-solving and emotional and social skills if they play with someone else.
Let me know in the comments if you were surprised by any cultural aspects affecting gross motor skills!
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