Early motor skill development forms the foundation for sport, exercise, dance... a lifetime of physical activity. Help develop them with age-appropriate, safe and fun activities. Here's how to...
The fundamental motor skill; important for almost every sport, an excellent fitness activity and still a child's favorite.
18 months - two years: Children will begin a form of waddling, uneven run.
3-6: Running becomes smoother, steadier and stronger.
Try rhythmic running: Ask your child to run to a tempo that you keep by clapping your hands, banging on a drum or even playing their favorite CD. As they get more surefooted, ask them to go forward, backward... in a circle, or the shape of the letter "Z".
Playing a simple game of catch can enhance hand-eye coordination skills and build a lasting bond between you and your child.
2-3: Children at this age try to catch with their arms wide open, not with their hands (so best to use oversized balls in any activity).
4-6: Improved fine-motor control enables children in this age range to start using their hands to catch.
Ages 2-3: Stand about 10-12 feet away and roll a medium-sized ball towards your child. Have them bend their knees, get low with palms down, then scoop it up with both hands.
Ages 4-6: From about 5-8 eight feet away, throw a medium-sized ball and have your child catch it on the fly. As they get more surefooted, ask them to go forward, backward... in a circle, or the shape of the letter "Z".
Learning to manipulate a ball with the foot develops balance, leg strength and is a critical skill in that most popular of children's sports, soccer.
2-3: Kids this age tend to just swing their legs back and strike in a single movement. It's more "popping" than kicking the ball.
4-6: At this age, children begin to learn the entire kicking sequence: Take a step, plant the foot, swing the leg, kick, follow through.
Ages 2-3: Line up a row of different sized balls
Ages 4-6: Roll a variety of balls towards your child and have them try to kick each one in successions. Try having them kick with different parts of their feet and in different directions.
Baseball, hockey, volleyball, golf... so many sports involve the ability to strike a moving object. It's a skill that requires timing, hand-eye coordination and the ability to exert force at a given moment.
2-3: At this age, swinging is an upper body movement only--a simple rotation of the upper torso.
4-6: Here, striking becomes more of a full body movement, using the trunk and legs to help power the swing.
Ages 2-3: Batter up! Place a oversized ball on a tee, and have your child swing away with an oversized, foam-shaped paddle or bat.
Ages 4-6: Continue to use the oversized paddles and bats, but now toss the ball to your child and have him or her try and strike it with the bat. Another good activity for developing sports-specific striking skills: Set up two cones about eight feet apart and 10 feet away from your child. From there, roll a soft, foam ball towards you child and see if they can whack it with their paddle through the cones (You be the goalie!)