Read this article published in the August-September 2012 issue of Infobébés magazine.

Ever since he started walking, your child has been fidgeting: running, jumping and climbing everywhere! These are body movements that require real psychomotor skills. And make no mistake, these acrobatics are not as simple as they look…

Luggage ready? We’re off! The summer vacations will be an opportunity for your little one to explore new spaces and experiment new movements with his little body. Green mountains, blue seas, fields of lavender as far as the eye can see… so many new environments to whet his curiosity and stimulate his desire to move. All the more so if he’s become a seasoned walker. And with good reason: the long-awaited acquisition of walking skills is followed by a whole series of pirouettes that your little one will love, such as chasing seagulls, climbing stairs or jumping into a puddle with both feet. What’s so special about these movements? They move the whole body within a given space. So we call them locomotor movements (think of a moving locomotive), and contrast them with non-locomotor movements, such as leaning out of a window, sitting up in a chair or stretching like a cat. What difficulties does your little Clémence have to overcome to perform these acrobatics? Info tells you all!

Good coordination!

These locomotor activities require complex psychomotor skills. To run, jump or climb – so-called gross motor activities – your little one will not only have to mobilize large muscle groups, contract some muscles and relax others, but also coordinate them with each other. Let’s take running as an example. To run like a pro, your child not only needs to coordinate the movements of his arms and legs, but also needs to be strong enough to take the whole weight of his body on one leg. And while running begins around the age of eighteen months, it won’t be fully mastered until the age of seven or eight. The same applies to jumping. To jump like a kangaroo, your little darling needs to be able to bend both his little legs simultaneously, propel his body upwards by extending them, and then let him fall back onto his two legs, which will bend again. All with precision, speed and flexibility. It’s a program that requires good balance, excellent coordination and the muscular strength of a champion!

Climbing the stairs

But that’s not all. The question of the stairs soon arises. To get to the nanny? Lots of stairs to climb! To get home? More steps to climb, because the elevator is temperamental! Your wish? That your little Charlotte should soon be able to climb the stairs on her own, like a grown-up. But, once again, this exercise requires a great deal of skill: propelling one of her legs upwards, having sufficient strength to support and bring back all her body weight onto the top step, and above all, flawless postural balance. Is she 18 months old? No doubt she can climb the stairs, holding your hand and putting both feet together on each step. Is she 2 years old? She’s about to go up and down the stairs on her own, holding onto the handrail. Great! From now on, you’ll have your hands free to carry your multiple bags on the way home from the shops! But it’s not until she’s three years old that she can climb the stairs, alternating one foot on each step, and even three and a half years before she can do the same on the way down. Why six months longer to go down? Quite simply because your little one’s center of gravity pulls her body excessively downwards when she’s on the slope. This requires greater muscular dexterity and an unparalleled sense of balance. Let’s talk about balance!

A budding tightrope walker!

These same locomotor activities strengthen your little one’s balance, which in turn plays a key role in the development of his motor skills. A veritable sixth sense, our balance accompanies us in our daily lives, without us even realizing it. And yet, it’s developed during the prenatal phase and comes into play at birth. Its role? To stabilize the visual landscape while our body or head is in motion. In other words, our sense of balance enables us to feel that it’s our body that’s moving, not the room we’re in. Think of the ballet dancer who performs five pirouettes without wavering, or the sportswoman who executes figures on the beam with agility. For the record, our precious sense of balance comes from the vestibular apparatus, whose receptors are located in our inner ear. But like many other muscular and cerebral skills, your little one’s sense of balance develops as he matures. In the meantime… hello falls!

Falling down to get up again

Yes, despite all your care and protective measures, your little angel won’t escape. And you should know that falls scare you far more than they scare your little darling, who remains carefree. His desire to move is always stronger than his fear of falling. You’ve probably already noticed that a child who’s just tumbled down starts up again. And that’s just as well! Falls help children to learn to feel, understand and represent their bodies, and thus to participate in the development of their body schema. But that’s not all. Falling will also enable him to better understand the limits of his skills, and thus readjust his movement to make it more efficient. Learning gross motor skills, like all learning, involves trial and error. How to react? That’s the question! In the past, some moms with large families couldn’t find the time to keep an eye on their youngest children, who ran around in total freedom. They’d fall down, cry and get up again, all in the absence of their parents. Today, things are very different. Mothers, who are omnipresent in their children’s lives, are naturally protective and on the lookout for the slightest fall. The ideal? The middle ground, no doubt. In other words, give your child enough freedom to experiment with his body and make mistakes. The goal? Remain vigilant while cultivating curiosity, initiative and resourcefulness.

Well in body, well in mind!

Since the beginning of this article, we’ve been talking mainly about a child’s muscular strength, sense of balance and motor skills. But think again. While these exercises are experienced by their little bodies, they also involve their minds. For these movements play an active role in your little one’s emotional and intellectual development. Whether we realize it or not, our bodies play a key role in our lives. And any physical activity is an excellent way of relieving the tensions and frustrations of our daily lives. The same applies to our children, however young they may be. Chasing a butterfly through a field of poppies, or jumping into every puddle they come across, gives them a chance to express themselves and promotes their emotional health. Finally, all these feats contribute to the development of his self-esteem, the feeling of being someone in his own right, and of living his own experiences. And, of course, he’ll appreciate all your encouragement!

As you can imagine, running, jumping and climbing are not easy tasks for our little ones. These acrobatics require muscular, psychological and intellectual skills, with affective and emotional repercussions. You yourself can encourage your child in this quest for motor skills. Play with him to run, to catch him, to jump like a kangaroo, to climb rocks. Stimulate his desire to move, while revitalizing the energy within you!

Consultant: Emilie Chicheportiche, psychomotrician in Paris

At the heart of a psychomotricity session

« Every week, I welcome around ten children for a psychomotricity session. The large room is equipped with mattresses, slides, bridges and small staircases, enabling children to run, climb, jump and slide. At two years of age, children don’t play together, but remain individual. At three, their motor skills are more developed, and they often enter into relationships by imitating their little friend’s movements. At four, they are more competitive, playing at who can run the fastest or jump the furthest.

Carole Neveux, psychologist and body awareness instructor in Paris

Zoom in on his little brain!

Running, jumping or climbing stairs are a set of automatic motor patterns that children acquire with experience. These movements are stored in the « basal ganglia », an area located in the center of the brain. When a child jumps for the first time, he or she has to put together a whole series of motor patterns as yet unknown, which explains why the movement is awkward and clumsy. With maturation and experience, the child will then execute these figures without thinking, as would be the case for an adult. In this way, only the activation of movement (leading to the activation of motor patterns) will be voluntary.

Sylvain Nollet, neurologist and hospital assistant at Besançon University Hospital

Last summer, his motor skills developed at top speed!

On the eve of summer, my little Barbara was a beginner walker. During the vacations, I took her to places where she could try a few acrobatics, without too much risk. I’m thinking in particular of the sand on the beach, which cushioned her every fall. I had fun playing tag with her. It’s fair to say that by the end of the trip, she’d gained a lot of confidence in her body and had made enormous progress!

Natacha, mother of three-year-old Barbara (76).