Nursery World - In control

Parents may overlook some of the simple everyday activities that help children develop both fine and gross motor skills. Rachel Goodchild offers suggestions for them With parents' expectations often focused on their child's social and academic progress, it can be easy to forget the essential physical skills that children need to acquire by the time they start school.

With parents' expectations often focused on their child's social and academic progress, it can be easy to forget the essential physical skills that children need to acquire by the time they start school.

Gross and fine motor skills are both movement-based. Gross motor skills include movements such as running, throwing and catching. Fine motor activities include stitching, writing, drawing and assembling block sets.

Children move through a range of developmental stages as they learn a new skill. For example, when learning to catch, children may at first be afraid of hurting themselves and run away from a ball or balloon. But they may then progress to using their whole body to catch the ball, reducing movement until they are able to use only their hands.

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