This week we got a lot of information on motor development. Motor development is a process that is accomplished in a child from the moment they are born and continues to develop until six or seven years of age. In the attainment of equilibrium and ensuing of coordination, the synthesis of all these elements is made conscious . These capacities in their totality enable children to have self-awareness, special awareness, and awareness of the people and objects that surround them.
This also emphasizes the importance of Play In a child’s life. As educators, we would be able to identify children who are most likely to be at risk of motor weakness as early as possible and to subsequently Incorporate specific motor activities as It Is vital for their later success In life. Educators should Incorporate and motivate children to practice these skills In the form of play and If necessary modify these skills, which they might find challenging.
While listening to the voice thread, Jon was talking about how the statistics were exalting that the environment controlled and Influenced motor skills, but I disagree. I believe that our instincts, from our ancestral years influence our motor skills: for example, I believe that boys have more gross motor skills because they were the hunter-gatherers and needed to be skilled at jumping, running, grabbing, throwing etc. While girls have fine motor skills because they stayed at home tending children, therefore they needed to be able to grab and hold small & fragile things, as well as be gentle. Although these gender roles have switched now, the body may have kept the gender-predisposition to gross and fine motor skills. While reading the text, I was amused to learn about mirror neurons, may be helping babies to imitate simple activities. It was interesting to learn about the cultural differences in the age at which children start walking.
In my culture, once the child starts to sit upright, mothers try to teach them how to walk; also, babies are given daily oil massages until the age of three, which is scientifically said to be helpful as it helps with immunity and to simply feel good. In my practice, what I want to take from this week’s information is to incorporate more play to enhance the motor abilities of children, in accordance to the situation and/or individual(s) involved.
