Motor development refers to the development of a child's bones, muscles and his/ her ability to move around and manipulate his/ her environment. In simple words, motor development means the development of various motor abilities from birth till death. In other words, motor development is the progressive change in movement throughout one's life.
As a matter of fact, the ability to move is essential for human development. Various motor movements or motor skills are essential for everyday life activities such as sitting, walking, running, climbing, catching or holding, jumping, skipping, throwing, etc. Motor development can be divided into two types, i.e., gross motor development and fine motor development.
Motor development in early childhood:
The period of early childhood starts from 3rd year and continues till 6th year. The motor development during this period takes place rapidly. This stage is also known as the preschool years. In this period, a child becomes perfect in various fundamental movements such as running, jumping and throwing and acquires the ability to unite or combine these movements. In this period, children's stride length increases and they develop a more mature running pattern. During this period, proficiency in climbing on ladders becomes efficient.
They can hop and gallop skillfully. The motor development at the end of early childhood achieves a satisfactory level. So, the systematic training of children in various sports such as gymnastics and swimming can be started because their basic movements like rolling, hanging, pushing, pulling, etc., become efficient. They can combine these movements efficiently under changing and difficult conditions.
They become efficient in various movement combinations such as running and jumping, catching and throwing, running and throwing, etc. Thus, they become efficient in all such movements but still competitions at this stage should be avoided.