How Motor Skill Development Today Can Affect Children's Grades Tomorrow

Parents want what is best for their children every moment of every day. They want their children to succeed in the classroom and on the playground, and eventually to go to university and land a good job fulfilling work. While there is no magic formula that will ensure your child has a successful life, there is a proven way to help jump-start his future: by helping your child develop motor skills. And the sooner you start the better.

What are motor skills?

Put simply, motor skills are movements that use the small and large muscles of the body. These skills can be divided into two categories, fine motor skills and gross motor skills. The former involves small movements of the body, such as tying shoelaces, moving a. toy from one hand to the other, cutting with scissors, stacking building blocks or writing. Gross motor skills involve large movements: crawling, walking, playing catch or doing a somersault.

Developing motor skills is a more complex process than building muscles because it requires coordination of many body parts, including the brain, muscles, bones, joints and the nervous system.

How does developing motor skills influence a child's cognitive ability?

“It is healthy to present your child with new challenges and risks, but do so with no expectations; while you may be ready to try something new, your child may not be.”

Motor skill development can be thought of as cross-training for the mind.

Researchers have taken images of the brain to learn what parts of it are activated when children are learning motor skills and what parts are activated during cognitive or thinking tasks. They learned that both activities caused the same section of the brain - the cerebellum - and similar neurons to activate.

This means that teaching children skills such as balance and controlled movement can enhance the complexity of their brain structure. Repeated experiences that teach new and increasingly challenging motor skills actually help strengthen the brain's neurological pathways. The more developed the brain becomes, the higher a child's cognitive functioning is likely to be.*

Can motor skill development help children do better in school?

The answer is yes, according to several studies. Scientists have looked at the physical activity; motor ability and school readiness of 3-year-olds and found that those with more highly developed motor skills demonstrated a greater level of school readiness and fared better in kindergarten than those with less developed motor skills. Academic success extends well beyond kindergarten; scientists have found correlations linked to motor skill development through primary one.

What should all parents know about motor skill development?

1. Start young. During the first two years of a child's life, rapid brain development brings with it certain time periods during which children are most receptive to learning certain skills. The window for learning fine motor skills, for example, ends around the age of 10. Once the window closes, children can still learn the skill, but it will be more difficult and require more work. At even a few months old, infants can start developing their motor skills by sitting up, rolling, crawling, clapping, waving, reaching and grasping for objects.
2. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Like multiplication tables or the alphabet, motor skills are best learned through guided repetition, to the point of where performing the skill becomes automatic. It is not always a good thing for children to learn a skill and be rushed onto the next activity. Repetition gives a child more opportunities to experience success, build confidence and develop strength and endurance. The practice of perfection makes perfect. Toddlers especially can become obsessed with a particular skill or activity and want to perform it over and over. Here again, repetition is a positive thing because the child is internalizing the skill and developing his or her muscle memory.
3. Challenge your child. It is healthy to present your child with new challenges and risks, but do so with no expectations; while you may be ready to try something new, your child may not be.
   
   The more that parents lead by example in taking small risks, the more likely the child will be to follow. Demonstrate the physical skill, create excitement for it, provide positive motivation, and your child will likely want to try for himself or herself.
   
   If your child does not want to try something new; accept it, but leave a window open for them to change their mind: "If you don't want to try a forward roll, that's okay. But in the meantime, watch me do it! If you want to try later, you can."
4. Don't mistake child development with training for the Olympics. Parents like to identify areas where their child excels, and push them toward that activity with the thought that a college scholarship or Olympic berth could follow: Parents who fit this mindset are not thinking about the benefits of activities - they are just thinking about the external awards.

The focus should be on a child's individual abilities: establish a baseline for what the child can do now; and then reach beyond it to help the child stay motivated. Fun and positive activities foster a joy for physical activity that will last throughout a child's life.