The motor development of the child from 0 to 6 years

The motor development of the child from 0 to 6 years old represents one of the largest and fastest changes in a human being together with the cognitive development of the child from 0 to 6 years old.

Today we will learn to identify these motor and mental changes and how to stimulate children for better psychomotor development, in addition to knowing some tools that can help children in their development, for example, a tricycle for babies.

What does psychomotor development refer to?

Psychomotor development refers to the evolution of mental and physical characteristics of a child.

The word psycho refers to the mental activity of children and the word motor refers to movement. Both aspects are linked, however, each can be promoted independently.

Psychomotor development is part of the evolution of the human being and allows the acquisition of abilities and skills that will allow the maturity of the central nervous system.

There are many aspects that favor the development of these skills and abilities such as sensory stimulation, nutrition, the emotional bond between parents and children. However, there are also risk factors that can delay these processes or prevent them from developing in the best way; situation that should be evaluated by the pediatrician.

Next you will learn to identify in a very general way the physical and mental changes of children in their childhood so that you can take the measures if necessary or so that you can promote said changes.

The cognitive development of the child from 0 to 6 years

The cognitive development of the child from 0 to 6 years old refers to the skills that the child acquires as he grows up to develop his intelligence and acquire knowledge about his surroundings.

In the cognitive field, the psychologist Jean Piaget is the reference on the subject. He determined four stages of development of children from 0 to 12 years old, however we will only deal with the first two, which are those that refer to the range of 0 to 6 years.

Sensorimotor stage

This stage includes the age range from 0 to 2 years, a range in which the baby acquires a development of its own movements as well as the perception of the world around it, and begins to understand the cause and effect of certain movements.

He uses his senses and learns through imitation and behavior patterns, however, he does not understand the permanence or existence of objects when they are not in his field of vision.

Curiosity and experimentation are the way in which the baby acquires the knowledge and functionality of objects.

For the development of the child from 0 to 6 months, it is recommended above all to strengthen the bond or physical contact with the baby, sing to him, play with his fingers, do small massages, move an object so that the baby follows it with his eyes, attract his attention with sound objects, turn the light on and off to stimulate his reaction to lighting, tickle him and above all, lots of love.

Preoperational stage

This stage goes from 2 to 7 years old where thought and mental representations are developed not only of the present but of timeless situations.

At this stage, symbols are very important, which will allow you to represent people, places, objects, even their position over time.

Children at this stage are very self-centered and believe that their point of view is the only one that exists.

The motor development of the child from 0 to 6 years

The motor development of the child from 0 to 6 years old refers to the physical and movement skills that the child develops at this stage of his life.

Since these changes are very varied and diverse, we will try to group them by age range.

Motor development from 6 to 12 months

• lift your head
• kick harder and harder
• pick up the objects
• sitting, turn your head to both sides
• sit up without help
• passes objects from one hand to another
• deliberately drop objects to pick up another
• crawl, creep

Motor development from 12 to 18 months

• begins to eat by itself
• stands unassisted
• walk with help
• master the pincer grip
• build a tower with few blocks
• sits in a small chair or folding baby tricycles, for example.

Motor development from 18 to 24 months

• runs
• walk without help
• go up and down stairs
• throw and kick a ball
• put hoops in a stand
• mimics a circular motion

Motor development from 3 to 6 years

This is the widest age range, therefore also activities and motor skills

• walk, run, jump, climb stairs, jump
• pedal a tricycle or bicycle
• manipulates small objects with increased coordination and dexterity
• cut with scissors
• can take a pencil and scribble or write
• can paint with brushes or other tools
• you can play sports like swimming, soccer, basketball, martial arts, volleyball and much more.

The large number of motor activities that the child can develop at this stage is almost infinite. The limit is often set by parents.

As you could tell, there are many things that stimulate children’s physical and mental development, so we invite you to let them run, jump, play outdoors, explore, even get dirty, because in addition to allowing them to experiment , develop their motor skills, they will also be healthier and happier children.

We hope that everything we have just told you about the motor development of children from 0 to 6 years of age and also their cognitive development have been of interest to you and that you put into practice everything you have just learned to stimulate their development even more.

We also invite you to visit another article on our blog where you will learn more about recreational activities for children and adults that you will love!