Supporting Physical Development in Early Childhood:

The ABCs of movement

LALA MANNERS: Movement is often called the first language or currency of childhood.
Both terms reflect the critical role physical skills play in the lives of babies and young
children. Being confident and competent movers has a positive effect on the development of
their communication and language through play. The forming of long-term friendships is
helped by being able to join in, keep up, and contribute ideas. And their physical health,
wellbeing and development is properly supported through daily experience of a range of
movement opportunities.

So what exactly are gross motor skills and why are they so important? Basically, they are the
big body movements, the fundamental movement skills that most children, regardless of
gender, ethnicity, culture, or environment, will gain in roughly the same order over a similar
period of time. They are fundamental to ensuring children gain the strength, agility, balance,
and coordination to learn more complex movement skills as they grow and develop.

Strong foundations ensure children are safe and secure in all environments when being
physically active. Even babies in the womb are continually practising their movement skills.
All the vigorous kicks and pummels, squirming, and wiggling are really important as they
explore their watery environment, communicate likes and dislikes, and get themselves in the
right position to be born, often a massive physical effort for both mother and baby.

The first year of a child's life is all about laying down firm physical foundations so that, at
every developmental stage, a new skill can be seamlessly added to those already evident. So
practising rolling over front to back, back to front, gives babies the strength needed to lie on
their tummies and push up on their hands. At some point, they will get onto their hands and
knees and start to crawl.

This is the most brilliant whole-body workout. They have to be balanced, coordinated, agile,
and strong to move in different directions around obstacles and at different speeds. All the
strength, balance, and coordination gained at this point goes towards being able to sit
independently, then stand, then start to walk.

What we need to remember is that all movement experience is of enormous value, and that
standing or sitting still is one of the most physically challenging things for children to do.
Practising the big-body gross motor skills, like rolling, crawling, climbing, walking, running,
and jumping, must not be forgotten just because they've moved on to other activities that are
more complex and demanding. These are the movements that give children the overall body
strength, coordination, agility, and balance that means they can move fluently and easily on
land and in water, and then use these movements in different combinations with apparatus
and music in team games or as part of gymnastics, dance, and martial arts.
By ensuring the pelvic and shoulder girdles are stable, more complex, manipulative, or fine
motor skills may be learned. Pelvic stability means children's core strength is well enough
developed to ensure they can sit still on a chair for a few minutes at a time to listen and
concentrate. Likewise, shoulder stability affects the stability at the elbow and wrist joints that,
in turn, will determine how easily and fluently they engage with writing and drawing
materials. It is really important to remember that all the fine motor or manipulative skills, like
cutting, threading, modelling, writing, painting, and drawing, are completely dependent on
reliable gross motor skills. Without strong roots, beautiful plants may not flourish and grow.