Imagine a newborn’s brain as a delicate seed planted in fertile soil, with the potential to blossom into a vibrant flower. In the first three years, this seed undergoes a transformation, with the brain tripling in size and forming essential connections that will support a lifetime of growth. What if we could understand the nurturing process that helps this flower bloom? By exploring the developmental milestones defined by Anna Tardos and the Pikler Institute, we can uncover the secrets to fostering a child’s development from their first tentative movements to their confident strides. Like a seed, a developing baby is delicate and requires the right conditions to grow. Providing the appropriate support and care is crucial, as neglecting these needs can hinder their potential, just as inadequate sunlight or water can stunt a flower’s growth.
The Importance of Gross Motor Development in Babies: Key Milestones and Support Strategies
Because a human child’s development is multifaceted, we will focus on gross motor developmental milestones, which are the building blocks for more complex physical skills. Did you know that a baby’s brain creates more than a million neural connections each second in the first few years of life? In subsequent articles, we will explore other developmental milestones, including language, social interactions, and conflict resolution.
Embracing Your Child’s Unique Developmental Journey: Why Being Unique Is Their Greatest Strength
It’s important to remember that these developmental milestones are just general guidelines. Each child will reach them in their own unique time. It’s not about being ahead or behind—it’s about being uniquely you.
“You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.” — Martha Graham
The Role of Toys in Supporting Movement
Movement is more than just a physical milestone—it’s a gateway to a child’s overall development. Toys, in this journey, are not mere playthings but essential tools that nurture a child’s growth. The very first toy a child discovers is their own body, particularly their hands. When a baby first explores and interacts with their hands, they are not just playing; they are achieving a crucial developmental milestone. This early discovery, where eye-hand coordination begins to take shape, lays the foundation for fine motor skills and the ability to handle more complex tasks as they grow.
As your child progresses, the role of toys becomes even more significant. Autonomous play—where children have the freedom to explore and engage with their environment—further enhances their gross motor development. The toys that accompany them on this journey are vital in supporting this growth.
We will be diving deeper into how specific toys can support your child’s growth at every stage, providing not just entertainment but also the building blocks for coordination, balance, and spatial awareness. By understanding the role of these toys and the importance of autonomous play, you can better support your child’s journey toward independence and confidence.
Birth to Three Months: Foundation of Movement
As babies start to move, they are guided by their internal motivation. By observing their inclinations, we can introduce items that might attract them, ensuring we don’t distract them from their natural interests. Movement is closely connected to play, as it allows babies to explore and interact with their environment. It’s important to remember that we don’t need to entertain babies while they are engaged in play. All children inherently know how to play, which involves activities they choose to do, in the manner they choose, using what they can control. Interestingly, studies have shown that the more freedom babies have to move and explore, the more creative and independent their play becomes. This highlights the importance of allowing children to lead their own play and discover the world at their own pace.
Turning from One Side to the Other
Did you know that laying babies on their backs not only reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) but also promotes healthy physical development? In the earliest months, babies spend a lot of time on their backs. Their initial movements include turning their head from side to side. This seemingly simple action is crucial as it strengthens their neck muscles and sets the stage for more complex movements. This movement also stimulates the vestibular system, which is essential for balance and spatial orientation.
Reaching for an Object
Around three months, babies begin to reach for objects that catch their eye—a moment that often delights parents as they see their child’s curiosity spark for the first time. Driven by curiosity, this act is vital for developing hand-eye coordination. As they practice coordinating hand movements with visual focus, their brain and muscles work together. This reaching is a precursor to more complex motor skills. It’s important to start placing safe objects within their reach on a flat surface. These objects attract their attention, prompting them to turn towards them out of curiosity. Avoid placing mobiles over their heads, as these can distract from their natural pursuits that develop muscles and strengthen bones.
Four to Six Months: Building Strength and Coordination Turning Further
As babies grow stronger, their reaching movements become more deliberate. They start turning their bodies further to follow the movement of their hands, which helps them roll onto their side. This turning not only builds muscle strength but also stimulates brain development, as the coordination required is a complex neural task. To support this turning and reaching, we can place safe objects like small lightweight bowls, rattles, and gripping wooden or cloth objects nearby to encourage them to reach.
Rolling Over onto Their Stomach
It’s surprisingly easy to derail a child’s development by placing them on their stomach too early—don’t take away the baby’s thunder! Being able to turn over on their own is a very important milestone. As babies grow stronger, their reaching movements become more deliberate. They start turning their bodies further to follow the movement of their hands, which helps them roll onto their side. This turning not only builds muscle strength but also stimulates brain development, as the coordination required is a complex neural task.
Rolling Over onto Their Stomach
After mastering rolling onto their stomach, babies learn to roll back onto their backs. This newfound mobility allows them to explore different positions, building further strength and coordination. Never interrupt their movement by trying to make them play with anything. If they are interested in something, they will go for it as a part of their natural curiosity and development.
Seven to Nine Months: Enhanced Mobility and Exploration
Leaning on Their Side
“Play is the highest form of research.” — Albert Einstein
With greater control over their body movements, babies can lean on their side. This position allows them to explore objects from different angles and prepares them for sitting up. This phase also involves significant brain development as they learn to balance and stabilize their bodies. We continue to watch and place the objects that interest them, such as cups and balls. Never put anything smaller than a quarter, golf ball or anything that might be a choking hazard.
Sitting Up
We never put babies into positions they cannot achieve on their own because each stage of development is essential for building the strength and skills they need. For example, we don’t place a baby on their stomach if they haven’t yet learned to roll over independently, nor do we sit them up until they can achieve this position by themselves. These milestones are crucial because they involve the development of important muscles that support balance, coordination, and overall physical growth.
Around nine months, babies typically develop the muscle strength and balance required to sit up on their own. This milestone is a critical stage in their development, as it opens up a new world of exploration from a seated position, allowing them to engage more deeply with their
environment. Sitting up not only enhances their ability to interact socially but also supports cognitive engagement as they begin to explore their surroundings more actively.
At this stage, it’s beneficial to introduce larger bowls, baskets, and blocks that they can pull themselves up on, further encouraging muscle development and coordination. This is also an ideal time to incorporate tools like the Pikler triangle, platforms, and ramps, which provide safe opportunities for climbing and exploring, reinforcing their growing independence and physical abilities.
Ten to Twelve Months: Preparing for Independence
Pulling Themselves Up
Did you know that when babies start pulling themselves up, they’re not just building muscle—they’re also laying the groundwork for critical problem-solving skills? As their leg and arm muscles strengthen, babies begin to pull themselves up to a standing position, often using furniture for support. This phase is marked by significant brain development as they start to understand spatial relationships and gravity. Platforms, boxes, baskets, ramps, bowls, cups, and the Pikler triangle are beneficial. This is a time when children like to put things in and take things out, including their bodies. Have materials that allow this exploration.
Standing and Walking
“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.”— Pablo Casals
With continued practice and increasing strength, babies take their first steps, leading to independent walking. This milestone is not just about physical ability but also about cognitive development as they navigate their environment and understand cause-and-effect relationships. This is a time for space and objects to climb over and walk around. Things of different heights for walking up and down from. The children will still want to explore putting things in and taking things out, so cups, bowls, boxes, scarves, dolls, and cars are appropriate.
Beyond One Year: Refining Skills and Independence
Walking with Confidence
After taking their first steps, babies spend the next several months refining their walking skills. They gain confidence and stability, allowing them to explore their environment more freely.
Climbing and Running
As toddlers start to climb and run, they’re not just expending energy—they’re engaging in activities that play a crucial role in their overall development. These physical feats demand advanced coordination, balance, and spatial awareness, which in turn stimulate brain development. When a child learns to navigate their environment by climbing a step or running across the yard, they’re refining motor skills and building neural connections that support their cognitive and emotional growth. These moments of physical exploration are not just milestones in movement; they are essential building blocks that enhance a child’s ability to interact with the world around them, fostering both independence and confidence as they grow.
Cognitive and Emotional Growth
Every physical milestone is more than just a movement—it’s a foundation for your child’s cognitive and emotional world. When they sit up, they’re not just gaining balance, they’re opening up to richer social connections. And with every step they take, they’re not just learning to walk; they’re building independence, self-confidence, and a deeper understanding of their surroundings.
“Play is a child’s work”- Maria Montessori
While children are developing themselves in all these areas, we support them by observing what they respond to for their growth. We put materials in their sight that engage them. These materials are open-ended and passive. There is a popular saying in best practice that we want passive toys and active children, not active toys and passive children. It’s important to have an environment where the child can see their effect on their world.
Gross Motor Development Sequence
Activity Ages
- Turns on the Side
- Turns on Belly
- Turns from Belly to Back
- Moves with Rolling
- Crawls on Belly
- Sits up Half-way
- Sits up
- Plays in Sitting Position
- Sits on Chair
- Creeps on All Fours
- Kneels
- Stands up by Holding onto Something
- Makes Steps by Holding onto Something
- Stands up Freely
- First Steps
- Walks
- Climbs Stairs with Assistance
- Climbs Stairs Independently
Development of Intelligence as Expressed in Eye-Head Coordination, Manipulation, and Play.
Activity Ages
- Tracks with the Eyes
- Looks at Own Hands
- Plays with Own Hands
- Grasps Tentatively
- Grasps Securely
- Manipulates One Object I
- Manipulates One Object II
- Manipulates Two Objects I
- Manipulates Two Objects II
- Manipulates Several Objects
- Builds
- Participates in Role-Play I
- Participates in Role-Play II
- Organizes Role-Play
Conclusion
“Every child begins the world anew.” — Baruch Spinoza
The development of a baby from birth to three years is a remarkable journey of growth, learning, and exploration. By understanding the progression of movement and its connection to brain development, caregivers can better support their child’s natural development. Each stage builds upon the previous one, fostering not only physical abilities but also cognitive and emotional growth. Allowing children the freedom to move and explore at their own pace ensures healthy development and a strong foundation for future learning and growth.
Consider how often we rush through life, missing the beauty of natural growth. By stepping back and allowing children the freedom to move and explore at their own pace, we not only nurture their development but also lay a strong foundation for their future learning and growth.
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