4 Ways to Help Children Develop Motor Skills

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old…….. We grow old because we stop playing -George Bernard Shaw

The Covid-19 Pandemic has changed a lot in our daily lives and the way regular activities are conducted on a day-to-day basis. Since mobility is drastically reduced and a lot of communication happens virtually, screen time for individuals has increased big time as well as for the children who attend their classes online. Ideally, screen time should be no more than 2 hours per day. However, now it has increased to 5 to 7 hours minimum for these children to attend their classes.

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I would like to share the aspect of what kind of challenge is this particular situation creating for Gross Motor Skills.

What are Gross Motor Skills? It is the coordination between the mind and body; the gross muscles of the body have their movement as per the instructions of the brain. Many researchers have already shared that physical activities of your body are equally important in academic achievements and it is incorporated in the school activities and curriculum. But now since virtual classes are conducted, it is a challenge to continue with the same kind of engagement for gross motor skills. The working memory of an individual is directly connected to the physical activity that one does. And so also focus, concentration, other achievements are connected to physical activities.

Here are some activities for growing children that will help you to overcome the challenge faced with gross motor skills for your children at home. The University of Harvard has done a lot of research on how necessary gross motor skill development is during the early years. In school, there are many other activities along with gross motor skill development that will be taken care of. However, it is very important for the parent also to focus on this one factor at home as well.

Activities that can be included in gross motor skills at home can be;

1. Jumping on a trampoline. If you do not have a trampoline, then a spring mattress also will do. You can keep it in a corner in the house. Jumping on it can act as a stress reliever for your little one. Jumping can also be done with a low height stool.
2. You can take red and green colored tapes (non-electric) and make a design (like a grid) on the floor. You can make them walk and run along those lines. They are not only learning to walk and do the physical movements but also it creates an impression in their minds about the horizontal lines, vertical lines and slanting lines which is a very significant concept of common patterns.
3. A spin ball activity. Tie a ball with the cord to the ceiling and the child can swing and catch the ball, which will also help enhance gross motor movements.
4. You can also ask your child to stand on one leg and tie the shoelaces of their shoes.

It may sound not so impressive, but it is vital to teach children in their early year’s activities such as kicking, jumping, running, crawling, flipping over the body, hopping, skipping, etc. It should be mandatorily conducted on a regular basis. Parents just need to organize at least 20 to 30 minutes a day for these activities for the children. If during this period, it is not provided then the child will have issues in focus and concentration in the later years.

Learning disorders and gross motor skills

We might have heard about Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia, etc. Dyslexia is a learning language disorder. Dyspraxia is regarding the children who have difficulty in using the gross muscles and the mind-body coordination with which the body movements. They are clumsy, hesitant to interact with other children and hate sports and field activities but they love to be seated as they have a challenge with their gross motor skills.

Dysgraphia is when children have difficulty with small muscles used to do the fine movements of the fingers like writing, coloring, pasting, cutting, etc., and similar fine motor skill challenges.

We have to ensure that we support our children and give them the opportunity to develop motor skills through innovative and creative methods. These activities are all interconnected and required for the overall development of the children in their early years.

Be more watchful and use these tools and techniques which are available at home and will help your little child develop well. You will start to see that you have a less anxious and less aggressive child at home as their frustrations are all released through these activities as they do not know how to manage their emotions at that age. We need to ensure 30 minutes of the day is dedicated to developing the gross motor skills of our children daily.