Gross motor skills – what is that anyway?

Fine motor skills vs. gross motor skills:

Motor skills (Gr. movement) refer to the entirety of the body's muscle movements. The term gross motor skills refers to all actions that serve whole-body movement, for example walking, running, hopping. Fine motor skills include movements that require coordination of individual muscle groups, for example hand–finger coordination when grasping, but also oral motor skills involved in speaking or facial motor skills.

Balance as a prerequisite:

All gross motor movements require a well-developed sense of balance. Children also first need to build up the appropriate muscle strength or muscle tone to be able to perform movements like walking or hopping. Basic body awareness must also be developed. Only when children can estimate, for example, how long their arms are or how big they are compared to their environment, can they coordinate their bodies safely.

Important developmental foundation:

Gross motor skills are not the basis for all later fine motor movements, but are also an important prerequisite for your child's ability to react at school age.

Promoting gross motor skills playfully in everyday life

Balancing:

• You can balance almost anywhere. For example on low walls, tree trunks or on the color-contrasted paving stones on the sidewalk. You can encourage your child to balance by demonstrating it — on the way to kindergarten, during a walk or while out in the city.

Playground:

• Playgrounds offer many different opportunities to promote gross motor skills. Without your child even realizing it, they train their strength, sense of balance and coordination when swinging, climbing, sliding and running.

Jumping:

• If traffic allows, you can jump up and down curbstones together with your child while out and about. Jumping over puddles after a rain shower or 'skipping' individual, color-contrasted paving stones is great fun for children and playfully promotes their sense of balance and body awareness.

Rough-and-tumble play together:

• Rough-and-tumble play with mom and dad is fun for all children — and it supports motor development. Children learn to assess their bodies properly and train their muscles and reaction skills.

Throwing and catching:

• It's no wonder that balls are among the most popular children's toys. The various possibilities of throwing and catching, as well as kicking a ball with the foot, are important exercises for gross motor skills. If you don't feel like throwing a ball back and forth, you can, for example, make a can-toss game from clean tin cans and a soft ball yourself. Cloths and balloons are also great alternatives for throwing, catching and chasing.

Ball games:

• Kicking a ball with the foot is a considerable gross motor achievement for smaller children. Take a light rubber ball more often to the park or playground. Not only boys enjoy kicking with friends or with their parents.

Toys and play equipment for better gross motor skills

Bouncy balls and hopping animals:

The popular hopping animals made of rubber are especially liked by young children. Even if they at first move only a little with them, they still train their balance and gradually learn to stay on the moving surface.

Balance bikes and scooters:

These vehicles not only give children self-confidence through the new, faster way of getting around, they also promote balance, muscle strength and endurance.

Jump mats and trampoline:

A soft mat in the child's bedroom or a trampoline in the garden makes any further parental encouragement virtually unnecessary — most children jump very persistently and with great joy. Especially with the trampoline you should definitely pay attention to safety and always be nearby when your child is jumping.

Tin-can walkers and stilts:

For small children, tin-can walkers are a great exercise option; older children enjoy stilts of different heights. With a little DIY skill, parents can also build these play devices themselves.

Gross motor skills checklist: what matters

• Give space:Children need freedom of movement to playfully try out their body and its abilities

• Give time:In free play, children experiment and often 'train' their gross motor skills all by themselves, e.g. on the playground

• Set an example:Children look to their parents — promote your child's motor development by being active together a lot

• Play together:Balancing, climbing on walls or jumping over puddles is fun and incidentally trains gross motor skills

• Imagination:Be creative and encourage your child to try new games and movements