Our bodies go through amazing transformations when it comes to physical growth and development. Think about the vast physical changes that occur between a newborn baby and a young adult. Recall the different things you or children you know were able to do at different stages while growing up. Physical activity is very important for our overall development and growth. Moving the different parts of our bodies, sitting up, rolling, crawling, walking, running, jumping, holding, and manipulating different materials or objects are examples of ways in which we use our bodies to explore our environment and learn about the world. These are also ways to keep our bodies healthy, fit, and well-functioning.
Physical development refers to the advancements and refinements of motor skills, or, in other words, children’s abilities to use and control their bodies. These advancements are evident in gross- and fine-motor skills, and they are essential to children’s overall health and wellness. Gross- motor skills involve the use of large muscles in the legs or arms, as well as general strength and stamina. Examples of such skills include jumping, throwing, climbing, running, skipping, and kicking. Fine-motor skills involve the use of small muscles in the arms, hands, and fingers. They are supported by advancements in perception, or the ways in which children use their senses to experience the world around them. Examples of such skills include stringing beads, scribbling, cutting, and drawing. Fine-motor skills enable children to perform a variety of self-help tasks, such as using utensils and dressing themselves. There is a great deal of variation in the development of fine-motor skills.
Children’s motor abilities in preschool develop as a result of physical development. As their bodies mature, children progressively strengthen their muscles and are able to better control their bodies. Skill mastery and development, however, are also the result of brain growth and development. For example, consider a preschooler kicking a ball back and forth with a peer or caregiver. This child must have acquired control over muscles and their movement in order to be able to kick the ball. The child also depends upon vision to determine the location and direction in which to kick the ball and on hearing for instructions from a peer or caregiver.
Overall, early childhood development is an extremely important issue which needs to gain recognition. Every parent needs to understand the significance of the first few years of their child’s life.
Jyoti Arora, Prabhsimran Kaur and Divya Goswami