Gross Motor Development

Gross motor development relates to adaptive changes in posture and locomotion. The development of gross motor behavior is an essential part of early child development. Specifically, as infants become more mobile, their vantage point alters and, as a result, they are exposed to a range of new experiences. Acquisition of gross motor skills provides opportunities for infants to access new information, both in terms of learning about objects and interacting socially with others. Gross motor skills also enable navigation through an environment and build sensory-motor experiences. In this sense, gross motor development can be considered a mechanism that facilitates the development of other domains, such as cognition and social behavior. Although the fine-tuning of motor skill development can take time, young infants soon become skilled ...