Motor Skills Development During Early Childhood

Early childhood is marked by rapid motor skill development. These include gross and fine motor skills.

Gross motor skills involve using large muscles for actions like jumping.

Children usually start jumping with both feet around age two and a half.

Hopping develops later, around age four.

Running becomes smoother around age three, and by ages four to five, control and coordination improve.

Most children alternate their feet while climbing stairs by age three and a half, but they do not usually do so when descending until around age five.

Jumping rope is a difficult skill that usually develops between the ages of five and six.

Next, fine motor skills involve small muscle control and eye–hand coordination, such as tying shoelaces.

By age three, most children can pour milk, eat with silverware, and use the toilet independently.

At age four, they can dress with some help, cut along a line, draw designs and crude letters, and fold paper into a triangle.

Around age five, most can dress without much help, copy shapes like squares and triangles, and draw more detailed human figures.