Gross Motor 2 Years Old
Gross Motor Development - A Guide for Parents and Caregivers
One of the most common concerns for parents is whether or not their child is developing normally. A delay in the area of gross motor tends to be a more obvious area of concern.
Gross motor is defined as using the large muscle groups to sit, stand, walk, run, jump, keep balance, and change direction. To help you understand development, it is important to now that the brain is fairly compartmentalized, i.e. the part of the brain that moves the right leg is separate from the part that tells the left fingers to move.
When an infant is developmentally delayed or neurologically impaired, gross motor skills, as well as other skills, may be delayed and do not develop easily. When a child’s disabilities interfere with their overall gross motor functioning, the child often does not develop in the sequence of a typically developing child.
For more information please contact, Martha Fugate, ESS Preschool Coordinator (928) 373-3453.
Developmental Milestones
Two-Three Years Old
Developmental milestones are a set of functional skills or specific tasks that most children can do at a certain age range. There is a large variability in the age at which children attain most gross motor milestones.
Here is a list of gross motor milestones that you might expect in children ages two-three years of age:
- Walks alone
- Bends over to pick up a toy and not fall
- Carries large toy or several toys while walking
- Opens cabinet, drawers, boxes
- Walks up steps with help
- Tosses or rolls a large ball
- Takes steps backward
- Jumps in place with 2' together
- Gallop
- Walks on tiptoe
- Kicks ball forward
- Throws a ball overhead
- Climbs
- Pedals tricycle
Motor Activities
There are many activities that you can do to help your child meet his/her motor milestones. Here are just a few of those activities:
- Balancing - walk along a chalk line, string line, or narrow board
- Crawling - play treasure hunt and crawl to find hidden objects
- Climbing - up / down steps or climbs over, up, down boxes, ladders, planks, logs, etc.
- Stepping - step into and out of hoops or around obstacles such as boxes and trees
- Jumping - jump up to touch or reach something such as leaves and balloons
- Kicking - balloons, balls of different size (try to aim at a target)
- Pushing / Pulling - tug of war
- Rolling - Log rolling with whole body forward and backward on a mat
- Running - around an obstacle course or with arms outstretched, etc.
- Walking / Stepping - on wide surfaces gradually becoming narrower, in-and-out of circles and hoops, using a line to guide children through a maze
Encouragement
Gross motor development gives your child the ability to move in a variety of ways, the ability to control his/her body, and helps to promote child’s self-esteem. Encourage self-esteem and a positive self-image in your child by using positive reinforcement and frequent praise for the things that he/she has accomplished.
Encourage your child to be curious, explore, and take on new challenges. If your child seems to be regressing or losing skills that he or she was able to do previously, please be sure to discuss these concerns with your child’s pediatrician.