Ways to Build Strength, Stamina & Endurance to support Early Physical Development in Babies.
Some babies start sorting and organizing very young, whereas, some start to crawl, stand up, or walk pretty early. When you ask their parents how they do it. They say they worked on the Early Physical Development of their child.
As a parent or a caregiver of a 0-3-year-old, you must be hearing the word Motor Skills a lot these days.
When those parents are talking about Early Physical Development they’re talking about Gross Motor Development activities for infants.
Early Physical Development is basically a life skill for your newborn or toddler. The purpose of this physical development is to build Fine and Gross Motor Skills in your kid.
For those of you who don’t know; Early Physical Development in infants is attained by developing two major skills.
1. Fine Motor Skills
2. Gross Motor Skills
Fine Motor skills are particular movements or activities/set of activities that help develop smaller muscle groups like those in hands and wrist.
Gross Motor skills are movements or activities/set of activities that involve and develop larger muscle groups like arms, trunk, legs, neck.
Both of these skills are important from a physical development perspective to help build strength, stamina, and endurance in your kid.
Now you might ask;
“What is the appropriate age to start developing motor skills for my kid?”
Well, the answer is simple. You should start with your newborn whenever she starts moving. There is literally no specific age to start that. Usually, it starts at 3-4 months of age for most babies.
There are certain age-appropriate activities for newborns and toddlers. Check out our 6 level done-for-you program that enables you to trigger Early Physical Development through age-appropriate missional activities.
All these activities support Early Physical Development in babies.
Benefits of Gross Motor Developmental Activities in Infants and toddlers
– Rapid growth of muscular tissue
– Stronger muscles
– Good Metabolism development
– Sets the foundation for an athlete
– Better brain development
– Development of analytical thinking skills
– Sets the foundation for confidence in your kid
How often should these Gross Motor Skill developmental activities be done?
Simply Speaking. All the Gross Motor Skill activities should be done every day.
But that is easier said than done. So you need to make sure that you are using encouragement and motivation every day and making them practice to develop Gross Motor Skills.
But my baby is too young to do any physical activity?
Do you know? Having your baby or toddler lie on their tummy is actually a great physical developmental activity.
You can start this activity as soon as your baby comes at the age where she starts moving a lot.
Start with 1-2 minutes of tummy time once a day and gradually increase the time and the frequency as per your baby’s ability.
This activity helps develop strength in their neck which will help them to hold their head while sitting upright. It also strengthens their abdominal muscles and helps them to stretch out their muscles from their days in your womb.
What are some Age-appropriate Gross Motor Skill Milestones/Cues to look for in my kid?
If you have made this far down this post then as a new parent or a caregiver this must be the question that might have struck your mind.
Babies do a lot of stuff as they grow, especially in 6 months to 2 year age gap.
Here are the milestones/cues that you should be looking for in order to spot them and use them as an important Gross Motor Skill developmental activity.
1. 0-3 Months
- Raises head & chest when on stomach
- Stretches & kicks on back
- Opens and shuts hands
- Brings hand to mouth
2. 3-6 months
- Rolls both ways
- Plays with feet and brings feet to the mouth when on back
- Sits with support
- Reaches with either hand
- Transfers object from hand to hand
- Supports whole weight on legs
- Begins to pivot to left and right while on belly
3. 6-9 Months
- Sits and plays with toys
- Assumes hands-and-knees position
- Gets from sitting to crawling position
- Crawls forward on belly
4. 9-12 Months
- Gets to sitting position without help
- Pulls self-up to stand
- Take steps holding on to furniture
- May Stand without support
- May take some steps without support
Are toys important for Gross Motor Skill Development?
Yes, toys are a great help in developing Gross Motor ability in kids. Maybe it had never occurred to you but a simple toy like a rattle helps in developing Fine Motor and Gross Motor skills.
A baby trying to hold a rattle helps build strength in their fingers and shaking that rattle makes it an exercise for the whole arm developing strength and endurance.
And apart from a rattle, there are many Physical Developmental toys that aid in building different aspects of physical development like Strength, Endurance, and stamina.
Visit here to know more about such toys.
Our Intro Program (The Foundation to Raising a Prodigy Super Kid) reveals the SUPER SECRETS about ‘Raising a Prodigy Kid’ during their precious 0-3-year-old window, and How to Unlock your 0 to 3-year baby’s inborn genius & amazing abilities with our At-home Program for Parents & Caregivers. This program addresses both Early Brain Development and Early Physical Development to make your kid grow into a wholistic Prodigy Super Kid.
Click here to know more about and to Register for – The Foundation Program and The Advance Program, before it’s late!
So, in conclusion, as a parent, a guardian, or a caregiver to infant(s) or toddler(s) – now you know the ways to build strength, stamina & endurance to support Early Physical Development in your kid.
These Tips and Recommendations are brought to you by the brain behind PSK – Mr. Arjun Seth, and the PSK Learning Team, through the medium of ‘Here with You’ – an informative platform specially designed for New Parents and Guardians, that they should definitely make “their thing”
