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On the move

In just two short years a baby becomes an energetic, running, jumping toddler. Greater mobility and agility leads to being able to reach more things and encounter more challenging environments, which in turn stimulates their curiosity and desire to find out about the world through movement and action. Many two-year-olds have a 'because it's there' and 'because I can' attitude to physical activity, a bit like mountaineers and mountains. They will climb over, crawl under and squeeze through whatever obstacle is in their way. Babies and toddlers, who are encouraged to move around freely, achieve a sense of celebration of what their bodies can do.

Many two-year-olds have a 'because it's there' and 'because I can' attitude to physical activity, a bit like mountaineers and mountains. They will climb over, crawl under and squeeze through whatever obstacle is in their way. Babies and toddlers, who are encouraged to move around freely, achieve a sense of celebration of what their bodies can do.

For children with physical disabilities this means finding ways in which they can be agile and dextrous (Manning-Morton and Thorp, 2003). As dexterity develops, the two-year-old's fascination with how things work means objects have to be taken apart many times before working out how to put them back together.

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