Motor Skills Development
Gross Motor Skills and Fine Motor Skills
Your baby's physical development is determined by her motor skills development. Motor skills are voluntary movements which require both development of muscles and maturation of central nervous system. Gross motor skills are those which involve large movements like the movement of arms, legs, feet or the entire body. For example, crawling and walking are gross motor skills. Those which involve smaller movements of hands, wrists, fingers, feet and toes like grasping and reaching are Fine motor skills.
Definition of milestones
A baby develops a particular skill, either physical or mental, at an approximately fixed age. The motor skills development proceeds from head to toe. The child therefore learns to control his head, then the body, arms and legs. Remember, each baby is unique and will not follow this table exactly.
Milestones Reached in Motor Skills Development
| Gross motor skill attained | Age in months |
|---|---|
| Holding up the head erect | 1 to 1.5 months |
| Lifting head while lying on stomach | 1.5 months |
| Lift both head and chest | 2 months |
| Rolling over from side to back | 2 to 2.5 months |
| Rolling over from back to side | 4.5 months |
| Turn head to both sides | 4 to 5 months |
| Sitting up | 6 to 9 months |
| Crawling | 10 to 11 months |
| Standing with support | 12 months |
| Standing alone | 13 months |
| walking when led | 13 to 14 months |
| Walking alone | 15 months |
| Climbing stairs with help | 16 months |
| Climbing stairs holding on to the stair rails | 22 to 24 months |
| Fine motor skill attained | Age in months |
|---|---|
| Grasping objects | 4 or 5 months |
| Pincer grip [ ability to hold objects between thumb and index finger ] | 12 to 15 months |
| Stacking and nesting | 1 year |
| Handle objects well and name them. Draw patterns like circle, play with clay. | 2 years |
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