It’s obvious that we want what’s best for our children. We want them to be healthy, to feel loved, to have a really nice stroller, crib, clothes, room… generally, the best of everything (they already have the best parents. 😉 We want them to grow and develop properly. We often watch how they achieve certain skills and we compare, not only the quantity, but also the quality of their activity with those of other children.
And everything is cool – until we decide that our child has fallen behind his or her peers in certain areas of development.
Does your child have a right to be this way? Can we be okay with that? Or do we have to immediately consult a physiotherapist and tell them our concerns?
I’ve prepared this post to show you that THE BABY NEEDS TIME to reach “perfection”. 😊
WHY DO YOU NEED TO BE PATIENT?
- FIRSTLY, BECAUSE DEVELOPMENT IS A PROCESS.
None of us was born ready to take on certain movement challenges — they took time. For children, this process is actually rather fast. For adults, it’s a little more complicated. That’s why, for example, my skating skills, something I have always dreamt of mastering, are still in their initial stage… But, enough about me. 😉
Every child comes into this world with very little experience. They don’t have a well-developed scheme or awareness of the body. Their movements are chaotic. Newborns engage their entire bodies in their movements, because separate and deliberate movements are not yet possible. They also don’t know how to function under the force of gravity.
For that reason, the first thing they need to do is learn how to control their bodies. In order to do that, the baby must get to know the body scheme. Simply put, he or she must realize that the body consists of one torso, one head, two arms and two legs (one on each side of the torso). The child has to learn the relations between these body parts and get used to the force of gravity. Basically, he or she must… develop. And for this to happen, the child needs TIME AND EXPERIENCE, and learning by trial and error is a vital part of this process. 😊
It’s like this: A relatively healthy person, while lying down with eyes closed, is fully aware whether their right leg is bent or not. Whether they are lying on the side or on the back. If their arms are alongside their torso or if they are spread to the sides.
Close your eyes and see for yourself…
Now, imagine a situation in which you don’t have this awareness… You close your eyes and you sort of “disappear” because you have no awareness of your body.
For a newborn, this is a familiar situation — complete chaos. The baby doesn’t really know where the boundaries of the body are and what are the relations between its parts. They will find out in time. 😉
- The second reason why the child needs time is that at first, he or she doesn’t concentrate on the quality of movements at all — all they care about is achieving the GOAL, but “HOW TO DO IT?”— that’s a whole other story. 🙂 Only by practicing can the child learn a certain movement and achieve the goal faster, easier, and more efficiently. When they understand this, they certainly make good use of this knowledge. 😉
That’s why, over time, as the nervous system develops and children EXPERIENCE the surrounding world, they LEARN, process, remember and… use the stored information.
In short, motor learning in children is about processes, based on practice and experience, that lead to the such things as the ability to move around. Children go through this process continually and thus take on more complicated motor skills.
According to Fitts and Posner, motor learning consists of three stages:
This is the first stage in which children test their abilities and make a lot of mistakes. The movements are usually very inconsistent and ineffective. Children try to achieve their goal in various ways and the so-called feedback from the environment allows them to initially estimate which of their strategies may turn out to be the most effective.
Maybe it will be easier to understand on the example of my skating adventure… Bear with me — It’s my first time stepping onto the ice. I’m trying out different strategies, like standing on my toes, but I’m not getting anywhere with that. So, I decide to slide… like in rollerblading. I’m moving forward but it’s waaaay too fast for me… Oh my, how to stop this disaster?!… I’m losing control… then whoops! I’m lying on the cold, hard ice and I realize, very painfully, that this is not the way to go… I must try something else. I’m not discouraged at all. I’m going to keep trying, but from now on, I know that when I lean too far back, I will feel it in my bones, literally. 🙂
In the so-called “associative stage”, children make fewer and fewer mistakes. Taught by experience, they begin to connect the dots — they notice what pays off and what doesn’t. So, they choose the most advantageous strategy and focus on improving it.
Here we go again — back to my skating. I already know that if I don’t want to fall, I have to lean slightly forward. So, I’m bending my knees, because then I feel safer, and I’m praying that no one slides past me too quickly and disturbs my peace. Hooray! This strategy didn’t disappoint me! For the first time, I didn’t fall on the ice, so now… I’m considering using my new-found technique again. 😉 My baby steps on the ice are still not something you would like to look at, but… I am moving forward, without any painful interruptions — my goal has been achieved! True, after 45 minutes of my skating adventure I’m as tired as if I ran a marathon, but it doesn’t matter. 😉
It’s almost a master level. Mistakes are rarely made and motor problems no longer require so much concentration. The new skill is now associated with very little effort — it’s almost automatic.
This stage of my skating career will still remain in the realm of dreams — I’ve come to terms with it. 😊 Right now, I don’t suppose that nonchalant sliding on the ice and talking to somebody at the same time is in the cards for me, but well… you can’t always get what you want! 🙂 Luckily, my children have it easier than I do! 🙂
So, as we already know — children need time, but… is time the only thing that matters here?
Absolutely not! The process of learning is primarily influenced by:
- PRACTICE — it’s really beneficial to provide appropriate conditions for children to develop freely and be able to test their capabilities and limitations.
- FEEDBACK from the environment — something like: “if you don’t fall, you won’t learn.” Sometimes a fall makes children realize that they have gone too far. Now, your role in all of this — make sure that the falls happen in safe conditions. 😉
Sometimes, a little help from the parent can be very useful. Try to incorporate the elements of developmental games or baby-friendly care into your daily routine.
Well, we already know the theory, but what does it look like in practice?
LYING ON THE TUMMY:
- Beginnings — newborns put on their tummy are not able to fully control their head. They turn it from side to side and make pecking motions. They are not able to symmetrically prop themselves up on their forearms, as the body weight is located high, in the upper part of the chest. And despite the fact that such activity is natural for a newborn, it’s not the “best” way to do it, so the little one works hard every day to improve this skill.
- “Mature” lying on the tummy — at the end of the 3rd or in the 4th month of life, the baby can symmetrically prop up on the forearms. He or she is able to fully control the position of the head, the line of sight runs parallelly to the floor, the elbows are aligned with the shoulders and start to move forward. The chest is slightly raised up and the legs are freely straightened.
The child doesn’t have problems with holding this position — in time, he or she assumes it more and more willingly.
Why is that? Among others, because the baby got to know this position. He or she reached a certain developmental stage, so holding this position does not take as much effort as it did before.
ROTATIONS:
- The first rotations — usually around the age of 5 months, the child, while playing with their feet, accidentally falls onto the side. While being in a side position, they often bend the torso backwards or push the head up and… ta-dah! Roll over!
- “Mature” rotations — they also begin with the head movement and reaching the arm in the direction of the rotation. However, during “mature” rotations, you can see a diagonal position of the hips and a distinct elongation of one side of the body, as well as a shortening of the other side. Such rotations require good control, body awareness, and cooperation between individual muscle groups. The child doesn’t bend backwards, but their torso bends to the side.
ON ALL FOURS:
- The first attempts — the child places the knees wide apart, arches the back (deepened lumbar lordosis) and raises the head up high. He or she may have difficulty with holding this position and after a short while, might fall back on the tummy.
- The “mature” position on all fours — the arms are positioned under the shoulders, the knees are aligned with the hips, the back is straight and parallel to the floor. The child doesn’t raise the head too high. He or she can easily “play and experiment” with shifting the body weight — rock back and forth and to the sides, lift one hand off the ground and finally… set off to conquer the world, or rather… your house. 😉
STANDING UPRIGHT:
- The first attempts to stand up are usually associated with pulling oneself up by holding onto furniture or a parent. The legs may be bent a little strangely, so generally speaking, the position doesn’t look that elegant.
- “Mature” standing is when the child PUSHES OFF from the ground — for example, from kneeling on one knee or from a bear position (but this is next level 😉).
WALKING:
- The first attempts at walking usually look like this: the child spreads the legs wide and tenses the arms and shoulders. The tummy slightly sticks out and the arch of the back deepens. The first attempts at upright standing or walking may involve standing on the tiptoes, which is often associated with the natural, yet still incomplete, straightening of the hips. The baby’s steps are fast and short, as he or she is not yet able to roll the feet forward, but rather stomps on the ground…
- “Mature” walking, which is similar to the walk of an adult, appears only around the age of 7 years. However, after about 4 – 6 months from the beginning of the adventure with walking, you can see that, while doing it, the child puts their legs closer to one another and their posture is getting better — the tummy and bum don’t stick out that much, the torso and arms are more relaxed, the child no longer walks on the tiptoes and their feet move forward more smoothly.
Of course, these are just some of the activities. I haven’t even mentioned the “gross and fine motor skills” of grip or speech development, and so on…
So, YES — giving your baby time while carefully observing their activity is very important.
If something raises your doubts, then of course, it’s worth consulting a specialist, but if you notice even small, yet continuous progress in your baby, then probably everything is on the right track. 😉
You may also be interested in:
Development is a process but it’s also a great adventure! Babies need to PRACTICE to improve their skills, but it doesn’t have to mean hours of strenuous exercising every day. You can make it really FUN 😊 for your baby. Have you ever heard about developmental games that not only help the child to achieve another MILESTONE in the process of development, but that also give them great JOY 😀and strengthen your emotional BOND? Find them explained in detail in my e-book about playing with the child! 😀
Sources:
- Fitts & Posner: Stages of Motor Skill Learning.
