Northern Caribbean University

Department of Natural and Applied Science

By:Javel MightySection: A

Mr. Burlon PantonPhysical Development in infants.

As depicted in the picture above, is a broken down stage of physical motor development in

infants, and their ability to perform tasks as each stage for different age groups.

“Motor development refers to changes in children's ability to control their body's movements,

from infants' first spontaneous waving and kicking movements to the adaptive control of

reaching, locomotion, and complex sport skills” (Adolph, Weise, and Marin 2003, 134) it can

also be referred to as the development of movement. The ability to move is essential to human

development. Many motor skills are necessary for everyday life activities e.g. sitting, walking,

running, climbing stairs, picking up objects, using cups, knives and forks, pouring drinks,

dressing, holding and using pencils, pens, scissors and using keyboards. Basic motor skills can

be further divided up into

• Gross motor skills that are large movements of the body including sitting, walking, running and

climbing stairs.

• Fine motor skills that involve the small movements of the fingers and hands. They include

picking up objects, using cups, knives and forks, pouring drinks, dressing, holding and using

pencils, pens, scissors and keyboards.

Movement can be seen and felt and a delay in motor development is usually the first sign of a

real problem because it is noticed far sooner than a problem with seeing, hearing or

communication. Motor development seems to follow a pattern. Large muscles develop before

smaller ones e.g. very young children find it easier to run than cutting with scissors. Children

also tend to develop in a head-to-toe pattern. For instance, babies move their eyes, head and

hands long before they learn to crawl.

REFERENCE

Goodman M. and Katz B., 1998, “Cerebral Palsy Caring and Coping”. Witwatersrand University Press.

Sacks B. and Buckley S., 2003,