Promoting the development of motor skills in babies & toddlers
How can babies' and infants' motor skills be trained?
Crawling, grasping, walking, smiling, hopping - All of these movement sequences are part of a child's motor skills. That said, there is a difference between gross and fine motor skills. In a nutshell, gross motor skills are comprised of the movement of the entire body, as with walking (for example), and fine motor skills include hand-eye coordination as well as facial expressions.
After the birth: Grip toys, baby rattles, and plush toys promote the development of fine motor skills
Shortly after birth, babies have barely any fine motor skills. Their movements are still largely uncontrolled and abrupt. Since babies' vision in the time after birth isn't quite fully developed yet, they can't recognise objects for what they are. For this reason, babies won't reach out and grasp for their toys intentionally. They see objects as blurred and unclear. This is why grasping is an important part of a child's motoric development. In order to promote this grasping of objects, toys in bright colours with noise and crinkling functions are ideal for animating them to grasp. Driven by curiosity, they start to explore their first toy with their hands and train their motor skills.
Inserting, stacking, sorting & Co. - Promoting the development of fine motor skills with toys
Comprehension of shapes, sizes, and colours first develops step by step. Children have the task of learning to tell the differences between them. Circles, rectangles, and triangles - how do the shapes differ, and which shape fits in which hole? Toys such as shape-fitting games, stacking games, hammering games, balancing games, and games of skill support children in their discover of the world of shapes and trains their fine motor skills in a playful manner. In addition, stacking toys trains dexterity and hand-eye coordination. The young one's patience will also be put to the test simultaneously.
Learning to walk: An important milestone for infants and the development of their gross motor skills
First and foremost: each child has their own individual speed when it comes to the age at which they start to try to walk. Balance and muscle strength must first be present to be able to walk independently. The first attempts at walking start between the 14th and 16th month. Since keeping their balance is still a challenge, baby walkers support children in their mastery of those first steps. Beyond that, a baby walker encourages them to play and discover. Whether as storage space for stuffed animals or insertable elements that promote the development of motor skills - baby walkers are the companions in ages 1 year and up and essential motor activity toys.
The next step: Learning to ride a bicycle with balance bikes and trikes
Before children can independently work the pedals, regular training is required. Balance bikes and trikes are the perfect preparation for riding a bicycle. In addition to promoting the development of early childhood motor skills, they also help develop coordination and balance. Balance bikes also motivate kids to exercise and playfully train their physical endurance while also teaching them the rules of traffic safety. It doesn't matter whether they're starting at 12 months or 36 months - balance bikes and trikes are suitable for different age groups. For young children aged 12 months and up, a three-wheeled trike is recommended. It can then be transformed into a classic balance bike when the child's learning progress and balance allow it.
