Physical development in the early years encompasses the growth of the body and brain, focusing on gross motor skills, fine motor skills, sensory awareness, and self-care. It is a foundational pillar of early childhood that underpins confidence, cognitive function, and emotional regulation. 

The Two Main Motor Categories

• Gross Motor Skills: Involve large muscle groups for movements like crawling, running, jumping, climbing, and balancing.
• Fine Motor Skills: Require control of small muscles in the hands, fingers, and eyes for tasks like holding a pencil, using scissors, threading beads, and feeding oneself.

Key Areas of Development

• Spatial Awareness and Coordination: Children learn how to navigate obstacles safely and understand where their body is in space.
• Physical Health and Well-being: children are active for at least 3 hours daily to build long-term healthy habits.
• Independence: Children gradually learn self-care tasks like dressing, brushing teeth, and using cutlery. 

How can I help improve my child’s core strength and postural control?

Core strength is the foundation of a child's physical development. It provides the stable base required to control arms, legs, and head movements. A strong core is vital for maintaining posture, improving balance and coordination, preventing injuries, and even helping children focus and engage in the classroom. Core strength is the foundational base for handwriting. A strong core stabilizes the pelvis, trunk, and shoulders, freeing up the hands and fingers to focus on fine motor tasks like manipulating a pencil and forming letters.

Try these at home:

• Wheelbarrow walking races (where the child ‘walks’ on their hand and adults hold their feet off the ground) to develop upper body strength – measure how far you can go!
• Create an obstacle course by including unstable surfaces, eg. Pillows – this type of activity requires strength and will also help to increase your child’s endurance. Time how fast they can go!
• Play animal walks by pretending to be a variety of animals such as crabs, frogs, bears, worms or kangaroos! All of these use the child’s body weight as resistance.
• Set up a mini ‘core strength circuit’, and have your child complete:
  – Superman or Aeroplanes where your child stretches out while laying on their tummy.
  Try to lift arms and legs off the floor with hands facing forward and palms down.
• Plank positions:
  – Four point kneel, where your child assumes a crawling position on hands and knees. Have them extend opposite arm and leg for 5 sec each – try to increase the time held each set!
  – Elbow plank, where your child uses their elbows/forearms and toes for support.
  Make sure their back is straight, and their bottom doesn’t slouch down or extend upward.
  Time how long they can hold this for, and aim for 30 seconds.
• Encourage your child to try new equipment at the playground, eg. swings, climbing, monkey bars, slides and poles are all activities that assist in increasing core strength.
• Encourage your child so sit with correct posture during seated activities
  (see previous blog post ‘The importance of good sitting posture for handwriting).