Physical Development Essay

By the time a child enters school, aged 5, they are able to execute numerous fine motor skills that allow them to perform many activates to learn and succeed at school. When most people think of their child’s growth and development they can remember the ages at which their child first rolled, crawled, or walked. How many can recall the age at which they picked up small items between their thumb and index finger, or transferred objects from one hand to another? This is the beginning of motor development. Fine motor skills are the collected skills and activities involved using the hands and fingers . Fine motor skills are those skills that require the small muscles of the hand to work together to form precise and refined movements. . It’s the way in which we manipulate the movement of objects such as pens, pencils and scissors using the fingers and thumb in co ordination with the eyes. These skills develop in a consistent pattern from birth to mid primary school. These skills take a large portion of a child’s younger life to practice and develop dexterity.
Even though we have a huge range of technology widely available to us, it is still important to be able to use a pencil, pen or crayon. Children need strong fine motor skills to hold a pencil correctly and to move the pencil in all the complicated ways required to draw letters and shapes.

Using scissors correctly is another lifelong skill that is reliant on fine motor skills. Children will need well-developed muscles in their thumb, index finger, middle finger and wrist to open and close the blades of the scissors. Think about the demands on small fingers and hands when children play with block, jigsaw puzzles and small construction toys such as Lego and computer key boards. Getting dressed and manipulating buttons and zippers requires strong fingers. Little fingers need to be able to move with ease.
Fine motor development starts at birth with the control of the eyes, head, shoulders, hips and body. A baby

References: Environmental Influences on Physical Child Development/eHow.com McDevitt Teresa M and Ormrod Jeanne Ellis Child Development and Education Fourth Edition. Pearson Education Ltd London 2010 Unsure if I reference classroom observations and discussions with teachers. Robyn Brown Bateau Bay Public School Jacqui Long Bateau Bay Public School Own children’s classroom at St Brendan’s Catholic Primary School Lake Munmorah