It is usual to divide a child's physical development into the larger, whole body movements, like crawling or climbing, and the smaller, more detailed co-ordinations using hands and fingers. The larger movements are sometimes called 'gross motor development', and the smaller ones 'fine motor development'. Both 'sides' to physical development are equally important for under-threes. Remember that each child's pattern of development is very individual and the ages in this feature are just an approximate guide.
0-12 months
Babies are born with very limited physical control over their own bodies, but they are highly motivated to practise movements. As a result of this they steadily gain control, from their head down towards their feet, and from the midline of their body out to the ends of their limbs.
Babies need to be kept safe - parents and carers should support their heads when they are young and ensure that they cannot roll or crawl themselves into danger - but otherwise they should be able to move and experience different positions.
Sound advice is to place babies on their backs to sleep. But from three to four months, babies who are awake benefit from sometimes being placed on their stomachs. In this position they can practise lifting their head and shoulders, as well as the flinging arm and leg movements that will enable them to roll over.
Between six and nine months babies gain the muscle strength and balance to sit up independently. In the second half of the first year, they develop the skills to move themselves along by crawling or bottom shuffling, or cruising along the furniture. Some will also have started to walk.
1-2 years
With plenty of practice, toddlers become confident walkers and clamberers. First, their full attention is on getting upright, moving forward - and frequently getting back up again after they have lost their balance! Toddlers become able to vary their direction and speed in movement, to tuck a book under one arm or pull along a wheeled toy.
Toddlers also use their larger movements as a form of communication, like holding up both hands to mean, 'I want a cuddle.' A full hand and finger point tells you either that they want to know the name of an item, or that they want you to look at this interesting sight.
Confident walkers use their newly developed mobility to get themselves to interesting play materials or parts of the room where they happily use their fine skills to explore. Their physical explorations show that toddlers remember and plan ahead a bit. There is also just sheer pleasure in using their ability to crawl or walk in different directions - it is just fun to move.
2-3 years
Young children show a wide range of physical skills: walking, running and climbing. Two-year-olds have usually developed a limited judgement about how fast to run or how high to climb, but children vary a great deal. They are able to handle large constructional materials like blocks and show pleasure in physical games like run-and-chase. Young children are often delighted to use their whole body movements in dance and to make the large gestures that go with some songs and rhymes.
Young children who are happily involved in the daily routines of a nursery or family home use their skills to fetch items you request, help to get out play materials and tidy up. They are also able to use large and fine movements to take on some of their own care.
At this age, children now have the confidence to deliberately play about with their physical skills. They can be real clowns, having found out that adults or older children giggle if they walk backwards, do a funny tippy-toe run or pretend to fall over. NW
Further resources
Earlier features in the under-threes series that describe activities to support the physical development of very young children are:
* Full stretch 4 February 1999
* Picking it up 7 October 1999
* Handy hints 3 January 2002
