Author: Sonia Yu
Registered Occupational Therapist
Gross motor skills refer to our ability to use and control large muscle groups in the body, including those in the trunk, arms, and legs, to perform major movements with stability (such as balance, stretching, bending, pushing, pulling, and posture control), mobility (such as walking, running, jumping, and climbing), and manipulation (such as throwing, catching, hitting a ball, kicking, etc.). As children’s bones and muscles grow and through daily practice, they develop different abilities in their gross motor skills, also known as “motor skills.” These abilities include muscle strength and endurance, balance, body coordination, trunk control, motor planning, upper body strength and stability, body awareness, and perception.
The development of gross motor skills is essential for young children. In their daily lives, children frequently need to use their large muscles to engage in various activities, including:
- Self-care tasks (such as dressing and putting on shoes, using the toilet, etc.);
- School activities (such as sitting attentively in class, learning about body and spatial concepts, engaging in fine motor activities such as writing and cutting paper, etc.); and
- Playtime (such as participating in social games, engaging in ball games, climbing at the playground, etc.).
Therefore, the development of gross motor skills in young children significantly impacts their fine motor skills, self-care abilities, attention span, self-regulation, emotional control, social skills, cognitive and mental development, and more. Particularly, fine motor skills rely on the foundation of gross motor skills. Children need good core muscle strength and upper body stability to maintain their body posture, enabling effective development of hand strength, finger dexterity, and coordination necessary for activities like stringing beads, opening caps, writing, and cutting paper.
Generally, infants can support their bodies with their hands and lift their heads when lying on their stomachs at around 3–5 months of age. By 6-7 months, they can roll over independently (from supine to prone or vice versa). At 9 months, they can maintain a four-point kneeling position or crawl. Between 9 and 12 months, they can use furniture for support to stand up and independently stand for about 5 seconds. At 12 months old, they begin to walk. From 1 to 2 years old, they can squat and stand up, walk forward, and start climbing stairs independently. Between 2 and 3 years old, they can jump in place or forward, climb up and down stairs independently, throw and kick a ball, and more.
To have good development of gross motor skills, children need a stable core muscle foundation to effectively develop the larger muscles farther away from the body (such as the hands and feet). This means development occurs from top to bottom (from the head and body trunk to the feet), from proximal to distal (from parts closer to the body center to those farther away, such as from shoulders and arms to hands and wrists), and from gross to fine (from gross motor to fine motor).
The development of gross motor skills in children may vary slightly due to different innate and environmental factors, with a difference of approximately 1-3 months.
Innate factors include:
- Premature birth
- Genetics
- Gender differences
- Higher or lower muscle tone
- Muscle and skeletal developmental issues
- Sensory processing and integration difficulties
- Other illnesses or health conditions
Environmental factors include:
- Lack of opportunities or safe environments for practicing or engaging in gross motor activities
- Excessive parental concerns about the safety of children during gross motor activities or providing excessive assistance
- Providing gross motor activities that do not match their abilities and interests
- Inadequate nutrition
If a child has not achieved the expected major movements at a certain age, parents are advised to observe if the child has started attempting to learn those movements and provide appropriate assistance to complete them. If there is no progress or a delay of six months or more in gross motor development, it is recommended to consult a doctor or other relevant professionals promptly to intervene and help the child develop their gross motor skills to avoid affecting other areas of development.
In addition to developmental delays, parents should also pay attention to the following red flags in their children: If present, extra attention should be given to the development of their gross motor skills. If necessary, consult a doctor or other relevant professionals for advice.
Red flags include:
- Child’s strong resistance to or lack of interest in participating in gross motor activities, or consistently preferring static activities;
- Child becomes overly restless, anxious, cries or screams excessively, or becomes excessively tired during gross motor activities;
- A child’s movements are often clumsy, prone to falling, and hurried when engaging in gross motor activities;
- A child consistently sits on the floor with legs in a “W” shape;
- A child skips the crawling stage and directly learns to walk;
- A child continues to walk on tiptoes after the age of three, etc.
