PHYSICAL AND

MOTOR
DEVELOPMENT OF
THE CHILD
Prepared by: Guzman, Michael Angelo M.
PHYSICAL AND MOTOR
DEVELOPMENT
Early Childhood

Age range: 2 to 6 years Known to us as

"preschool age"
 Physical Development during Early Childhood

Physical development in children follows a directional pattern.

1. The rapid increase in body size of the first two years tapers
off into a slower growth pattern. On average, children add 2 to
3 inches in height and about 5 pounds in weight each year.
Boys continue to be slightly larger than girls.
2. Large muscles develop before small muscles. Muscles in the body's
core,legs and arms develop before those in the fingers and hands. Children
learn how to perform gross (or large) motor skills such as walking before
they learn to perform fine (or small) motor skills such as drawing.

3. The center of the body develops before the outer regions. Muscles
located at the core of the body become stronger and develop sooner than
those in the feet and hands.

4. Development goes from the top down, from the head to the toes. This is
why babies learn to hold their heads up before they learn how to crawl.
 Motor Development during Early Childhood
As child grows, his nervous system becomes more mature.
As this happens, the child becomes more and more capable
of performing increasing complex actions. Motor
development may vary somewhat. However, nearly all
children begin to exhibit these motor skills at a fairly
consistent rate unless some type of disability is present
(Bayley, 1993). When a child is healthy, he strengthens all his
muscles, establishes his coordination, acquires equilibrium,
fine tunes movement of his small muscles, and learns to
move for specific purposes progressively (Gines, et al.,
1998). There are two types of motor skills:
•Gross (or large) motor skills involve the larger muscles
including the arms and legs. Actions requiring gross motor
skills include walking, running, balance and coordination. When
evaluating gross motor skills, the factors that experts look at
include strength, muscle tone, movement quality and the range
of
movement.
• Fine (or small) motor skills involve the smaller muscles in the
fingers, toes, eyes
and other areas. The actions that require fine motor skills tend
to be more intricate, such as drawing, writing, grasping objects,
throwing, waving and catching.
 HANDEDNESS

Handedness is established between 3 to 6 years. During this

period, children abandon the tendency to shift from the use of
one hand to the use of the other hand. They begin to
concentrate on learning skills with one hand as the dominant
hand and the other as auxiliary hand.Parents and teachers are
advised to train and encourage the child to use his right hand
because he is born into a right-handed world. (Gines, et al.,
1998)
 Middle Childhood

Age range: 6 to 12 years

Known as "Grade 1 to 6 pupils"
 Physical Development during Middle Childhood
Children's bodies change a lot during this development.
Bones broaden and lengthen dramatically. In general,
children will grow an average of 2-3 inches taller each
year throughout this stage. As young children enter to
this period, boys are generally taller than girls, but at the
end of middle childhood, the growth trend in height will
reverse. Furthermore, both boys and girls are building
muscle. Generally, children will gain 6 to 7 pounds a year
each during the period. Girls tend to retain more fatty
tissue than boys in preparation for puberty.
Motor Development during Middle Childhood

Gross Motor Skills Development

During middle childhood, children can
do large-scale body movements.
Typically, boys develop these skills
slightly faster than do girls, except for
skills involving balance and precise
movements such as skipping, jumping
and hopping.
Children in this stage also refine their control over
gross motor skills. They are able to gain this
improved control and coordination due to increases
in their flexibility, equilibrium, and agility. They also
learn how to synchronize the movement of their
body's various parts, allowing for the development of
smoother, more coordinated whole-body movement
routines such as are needed for participating in
organized sports.
 Fine Motor Skills
Development
Children in middle childhood also continue to hone their
fine motor skills. Contrary to gross motor skills
development, girls tend to develop fine motor skills slightly
faster than do boys.
Specifically, middle-childhood-aged children show
dramatic improvements with their penmanship. Their
artistic ability can truly begin to shine during this period as
they also develop the ability to draw complex and detailed
pictures incorporating depth cues and 3D elements and
they become more imaginative.
During this stage, children also learn how to use
their hands to successfully complete manual
activities other than drawing or writing. For
example, they become capable of executing
complex detail-oriented craft projects involving
beading, sewing, scrap booking, building
models, and good at using simple tools.
Adolescence
 Physical Development during Adolescence

During this developmental stage,

adolescents experience two
significant changes in physical
development. These are:
1. Adolescent or Pubertal Growth Spurt. This
refers to the rapid acceleration in height and
weight. Girls enter the rapid growth earlier than
boys. Girls may begin as early as age 9 or as late
as age 12, while boys may begin as early as 12 or
as late as 16. Typically, the spurt for girls occurs
two years earlier than boys. Aside from growing
taller and heavier, the body assumes an adult-like
appearance.
2. Puberty. This is the emergent of primary and
secondary sex characteristics, and the point which the
individual becomes physically capable of sexual
reproduction. • Primary sex characteristics include
development of gonads (testes for boys and ovaries for
girls), and production of sex hormones. Secondary sex
characteristics include development of body form
(triangular for boys and hourglass for girls), growth of
pubic hairs, and menarche (first menstrual period for
girls) and penis growth for boys. (Gines, et al., 1998)
 Motor Development during Adolescence
Gross Motor Skills Development & Fine
Motor Skills Development Gross and fine
motor skills improve continuously during
adolescence. Adolescents can do more
complex and strenuous activities compare
when they were in their middle childhood.
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