Movement: Fine Motor & Gross Motor
How are the movements of 2-3 year-olds influenced by changes in their brains at this age?
From 2 to 3 years of age, the brain''s pathways - including the motor pathways - continue to be influenced by myelination. Myelin is a dense, fatty substance that helps neurons send and receive messages faster and more clearly. This helps motor circuits in the brain gradually gain better control and coordination over fine movements such as, manipulating puzzle pieces, using a spoon and fork, buttoning or zipping, and gross movements such as, jumping, skipping, hopping, and climbing.
As toddlers practice these emerging skills, their movement reinforces the growth of brain cells and the developing connections between them. As a care provider you can foster toddlers'' motor development by providing lots of space and opportunity for them to engage in fine and gross motor activities. By doing this, you will support both the development of these skills and the growth of the brain.
Between 2-3 years of age you can expect that toddlers will become better and more precise at tasks such as dressing, feeding themselves, getting a drink, washing their hands, stringing beads, handling paint brushes/scissors/crayons, throwing and kicking a ball, hopping on one foot, pedaling a tricycle, and climbing up and down a small slide.
As toddlers master these many fine and gross motor skills, you will notice they are also developing a preference for one or the other hand - favoring use of the right or left hand for holding an object, throwing a ball, waving good-bye, etc., along with an emerging preference in leg use when they are hopping on one foot or kicking a ball.
Researchers cannot say for sure what causes hand preference - both genes and experience seem to play a role. We do know it takes several years for handedness to become fully expressed in the brain. Typically, a child may switch back and forth several times before settling on a preferred hand - no need to worry about this. This switching behavior may actually be quite useful. It may be a way of making sure that both hands master the basic manipulative skills while the brain is still in its most intensive wiring period.
At 18 months, about 50% of all toddlers show a stable hand preference. This number increases to 90% by age four, but some will not settle on a hand preference until seven years. Whenever they settle, children often continue to experiment with both hands, typically alternating between periods of ambidexterity - using both hands equally well - and single-hand preference until fairly late in childhood.
What you can do:
Provide toddlers with lots of opportunity to exercise fine motor skills by encouraging them in self-help tasks such as pouring their own milk at snack time, using utensils to eat, putting on their shoes and coat, letting them button and zip, and washing their own hands. They may need some help getting started, but allow them the time to work on each task on their own.
Provide toys and activities that increase their opportunities to use these fine motor skills. Finger painting, painting with brushes, playing with play-dough, drawing with crayons, markers or pencils, manipulating puzzle pieces, building with blocks, pressing buttons on telephones, stringing beads, playing musical instruments, and dress-up activities are some examples.
Provide plenty of opportunities, space and time for toddlers to use their gross motor skills both indoors and out. Allow time for dancing, running, jumping, hopping, climbing, and carrying objects.
http://www.zerotothree.org/brainwonders/caregivers.html
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