Motor Skills and Coordination in newborn baby until 6 years

Motor Skills and Coordination

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Newborn to 1 month
Most babies, by the time they reach a month of age, are able to turn or even lift their heads. Some babies are particularly skilled at this particular milestone and are even able to do so at birth. That said, it is important to remember that you always need to carefully support a newborn's head, since it will be many months before she can do it on her own.

As you explore ways to interact with your baby, keep in mind that infants this age are easily overstimulated. Even a walk around the block can seem like a day at the amusement park, and many babies will cry, become cranky, eat poorly, or not sleep well when they are overstimulated.

1 to 3 months
While all 3-month-olds still need special attention paid to supporting their heads, they definitely require less support than they did as newborns. Don't let your infant's increasing head control fool you, however — many 3-month-olds like to show off their abilities while being held, only to suddenly thrust themselves back, causing their heads to flop over.

Along with better head control, infants gradually develop the ability to hold objects in their hands (instead of just grasping things reflexively) as well as to bring their hands to their mouths.

3 to 6 months
While infants do not generally develop much fine motor control at this age, they definitely perfect their ability to bring objects to their mouths, a skill that bothers some parents, but which actually serves a great purpose. It is entirely expected that babies will explore the world around them through their mouths.

In addition, 3- to 6-month-olds are able to play with and be amused by toys put within their reach, and by 6 months, most can pass objects from hand to hand.

6 to 9 months
Babies this age not only start to imitate actions and intentionally reach for toys placed just out of reach, but they also become more skilled at transferring objects from hand to hand — not to mention banging them on a table.

While it may take a couple of months before your baby can easily pick up small objects between his thumb and first finger (known as a pincer grasp), you will probably see your child starting to try.

9 to 12 months
Babies between 9 and 12 months work on perfecting their ability to pick up small objects using their thumbs and pointer fingers. Nine-month-olds tend to do so rather crudely, whereas 1-year-olds are typically much more skilled at using a pincer grasp to get what they want. And quite often, this means getting objects to their mouths!

Your baby is also likely to get better at manipulating objects, even if they are wedged in tight spaces, as well as better at drinking from a cup (assuming you've been offering him one.)

12 to 18 months
Most toddlers are quite content to scribble with crayon on paper (and anything else that happens to be in the vicinity), to stack blocks instead of just banging them together, and to use utensils when eating. All these skills take practice, so be sure to give your toddler plenty of opportunity to do so, and don't expect perfection in the days or weeks to come.

2 years
Gross motor skills really improve over the year as a 2-year-old's strength and coordination markedly increase. Most 2 1/2-year-olds can jump off the ground with both feet, and by the time children reach their third birthday, they can typically ride a tricycle and balance for several seconds on one foot.

The period between 2 and 3 is when scribbling generally becomes more deliberate, and children typically learn to draw (and recognize) circles.

Two-year-olds are usually able to undress themselves and even help with the task of getting dressed.

3 years
By 3 years, your child should be able to get around with ease. This includes not only riding a tricycle, running, jumping, and climbing, but also hopping and balancing on one foot (if only for a few seconds), and walking up stairs like an adult, alternating feet and only putting one on each step.

At the beginning of this year, your 3-year-old will likely be able to dress herself with relative ease, but buttons will still pose a challenge. By the end of the year, however, buttoning and zipping are much more likely to be a snap.

Most 3-year-olds can not only draw a circle, but learn to draw a cross as well. Attempts at drawing people start out relatively crudely and with very little detail, but will soon progress to include several body parts.

4 years
Children this age are able to draw more detailed pictures of people. Stop to look at your child's drawings, and you're sure to find that they have become much less like abstract art, involving more attention to detail. Pictures of people, for example, are less crude and often involve more than just a few body parts.

5 years
While only a few are truly skilled at shooting baskets or scoring soccer goals, just about all 5-year-olds are able to hop, skip and jump, throw (and sometimes catch) a ball, and climb the stairs without effort.

Whether or not 5-year-olds have mastered the skill of tying shoelaces obviously depends on how often they have actually been exposed to shoelaces, since Velcro seems to be the hottest thing since sliced bread these days when it comes to children's footwear. But for the most part, children are usually capable of both tying their own shoes and buttoning their own buttons before the age of 6.

6 years
While some are truly skilled at shooting baskets or scoring soccer goals, just about all 6-year-olds are able to hop, skip, jump, and throw and catch a ball.

Children are usually capable of both tying their own shoes and buttoning their own buttons before the age of 6.