What Are Gross Motor Skills?

Gross motor skills are an important aspect of your child’s development. Here is an overview of some important points:

• What are gross motor skills?
• The importance of gross motor skills    
• Factors affecting gross motor development
• Developmental milestones - supporting kids who struggle
• Gross motor activities to do at home
• OT Mom's gross motor articles and resources
  

* Haz click aquí para español: Todo Sobre La Motricidad Gruesa

What Are Gross Motor Skills?

Gross motor skills are skills that develop using the large muscles of the body, ie the arms, legs and trunk. Children learn to walk, run, jump and throw as their balance improves, and as they develop coordinated movements and physical dexterity as part of their normal gross motor development.

Gross motor skills lay the foundation for the development of fine motor skills, increasing independence in self care, and the development of academic skills and confidence.

Examples of gross motor skills in infancy include rolling, creeping/crawling, and learning to walk, run and climb.

Older children use gross motor skills to play sports, cycle, swim, climb and even to play some musical instruments! Childhood games like hopscotch, follow-my-leader and jumping rope all use the larger muscles of the body.

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The Importance of Gross Motor Skills

Young children use gross motor skills in play, and in self-care tasks like independent dressing (think about the balance needed as you reach down to pull up your pants or your socks). As your child gets older, taking part in sports and doing chores will require coordination skills, as well as endurance and a reasonable amount of strength.

Even walking up a flight of stairs is a gross motor skill!

Fine motor skill development can also be affected by gross motor development, and that is why I encourage parents to help work on upper body strength and core stability to help develop the control needed for cutting with scissors or handwriting. 

When your child engages in regular physical gross motor activities, this can also help improve cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of childhood obesity.

In addition, studies have shown that the benefits of gross motor skills and physical activity include better concentration, independence, self-confidence and academic performance.

Developing gross motor skills during the preschool years can help lay the foundation for reading, writing and other school skills.

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Factors That Affect Gross Motor Development

Gross motor development follows principles like “big to small” and “proximal to distal,” meaning children first gain control over larger, central muscles before developing smaller, distal muscles (Myers).

Several factors can influence a child's gross motor development:

• Genetics plays a role, as each child develops at a different pace. 
  
  
• Prenatal health, birth trauma, premature birth, and early childhood health may also play a role in the development of gross motor skills.
  
  
• Underlying difficulties with coordination, balance, motor planning, and concentration can all affect a child’s ability to take part in, and benefit from, gross motor activities.
  
  
• The child’s environment also affects the development of gross motor skills. Kids need safe play spaces at home and at school. They also need adults to encourage and supervise physical activity, and access to basic resources like play park equipment, balls and space to play. When these are lacking, this can affect how well a child develops gross motor skills.
  
  
• And if a child spends a lot of time on devices, this may hamper the optimal development of gross motor skills.

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Developmental Milestones - Supporting Kids Who Struggle

Between toddlerhood and starting formal schooling, there are many milestones that children achieve, such as catching and throwing a ball, learning to ride a bike and hopping on one foot.

Your child’s natural ability, their environment and the resources at hand, may affect the age at which these milestones are reached.

Achieving milestones!

Typically, by 2 years old, a child may begin running, kicking balls, and climbing furniture. Pedaling a tricycle is usually mastered around age 3 to 4, and skipping by age 5.

A child with poor gross motor skills may struggle to use playground equipment and to keep up with peers in PE classes. They may avoid ball games and playing sport, they may be exceptionally clumsy, and their fine motor skills may also be delayed.

A child’s teacher or coach often has the experience to spot if a child is behind their peers, and can refer the child for an assessment or encourage parents to take part in activities to boost their child’s development.

Sometimes, a child just needs some additional encouragement and opportunities to take part in physical movement activities - my website aims to provide parents and teachers with a wide variety of simple gross motor activities to do just that.

However, if you are at all concerned about your child’s development, then please seek a professional opinion. Occupational and physical therapists are trained to help you!

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Examples of Gross Motor Skills Activities

Parents (and teachers) can look at ways of including fun, simple gross motor activities in their daily routines, with long term benefits to the children in their care.

Here are some practical tips to promote gross motor skills with fun and effective gross motor activities in your day-to-day life!

• Climb!
  Climbing is a good way to help develop strength and coordination - encourage your child to climb on playground equipment, a strong tree or a climbing wall under direct adult supervision.

Climbing

• Throw and Catch!
  Throwing and catching can help develop hand-eye coordination and bilateral coordination. Bean bags may be easier for younger kids to work with as they don’t roll away. Try these beanbag games and activities for younger kids.

Throwing and catching

• Obstacle courses!
  You can easily set up an obstacle course at home - indoors or outdoors.
  Try different ways of moving (eg hopping, skipping, creeping, leopard crawling over, around or under different obstacles (tables, chairs, a piece of tape on the floor), and your child will be having loads of fun while working on gross motor skills!

Leopard crawling through an obstacle course

• Go To The Park!
  There is usually a variety of playground equipment that will get  your child running, climbing, jumping, swinging and more!
  Take some friends and show them how to play “follow-my-leader” or build an obstacle course using the park equipment.

Pulling up on a rope

• Do Some Chores!
  This page of my site looks at some chores that have great gross motor benefits!
  
  
• Dance!
  Whether in the classroom or at home, turn on the music and show your child your favorite dance moves. Take turns working out some funky moves for each other to copy!

Helping with chores!

• Go Shopping!
  Pushing the trolley and walking around the shops is a good way of getting active with your child! Have your child help you carry the groceries in and pack them away.

• Get Some Resources!
  Yard sales are great places to find balls, cornhole boards, jump ropes, balance beams, mini trampolines, and more.

Pushing a trolley

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OT Mom Gross Motor Articles and Resources

• Core strength and stability help to support your child’s spine and provide a base for good posture, balance, and coordinated movement.
  Check out my free, photographed core exercises for kids, or download my core exercises e-book to have a wealth of activities at your fingertips!

• Upper body strength and stability at the shoulder girdle provide a stable foundation for the development of your child’s fine motor skills, as well as for various sports. Check out my free, photographed shoulder girdle exercises for kids.
  
  
• Coordination skills are vital for ball games, dancing, riding a bike, hopscotch and many other activities. Check out my pages of free bilateral coordination activities and hand-eye coordination activities. My bilateral coordination e-book contains lots more of these activities, with photos and instructions to inspire you!
  
  
• In addition, check out these Bean Bag Games for younger kids, and my article on the gross motor benefits of chores!

You may have landed here because you asked the question “what are gross motor skills?”

I hope this page answered you, and that you feel empowered and encouraged to help your child develop their skills, to reach their potential and grow in confidence!

Gross motor activities don’t need to be expensive or complicated, they just need to be fun and make your child feel successful.

Remember to have fun with your child as you build skills together!

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If this page was helpful, please share it with your friends!

Related Pages

Overview of Muscle Tone

Getting Ready For Learning!

Exercises for the Classroom

Crossing Midline Activities

References:

Cameron, C.; Cottone, E. A.; Murrah, W. M. & Grissmer, D.W. (2016). How Are Motor Skills Linked to Children's School Performance and Academic Achievement? Child Development Perspectives. 10(2). 10.1111/cdep.12168.

Myers, Beverly. Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) Approach. Occupational Therapy for Physical Dysfunction. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1995

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