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What Are Motor Skills?

Nicky Sutton
Nicky Sutton

Motor skills are the ability to make particular bodily movements to achieve certain tasks. They are a way of controlling muscles to make fluid and accurate movements. These skills must be learned, practiced and mastered, and overtime can be performed without thought, for example, walking or swimming. Children are clumsy in comparison to adults, because they have yet to learn many motor skills that allow them to effectively accomplish tasks.

Combinations of muscular movements produce sequences of bodily movements that are learned and refined in order to accomplish specific tasks. These skills are the way we move our body in certain situations, where movement and action are required. The child learns which muscles to use and how to control them with the help of other factors such as sight and coordination; the skill of movement is mastered.

Fine motor skills use small muscle groups for small-scale tasks, like needlepoint.
Fine motor skills use small muscle groups for small-scale tasks, like needlepoint.

Babies are born with an immature and underdeveloped nervous system that needs to learn about the world through experiences. Children’s nervous systems develop over time and skills such as reaching and grasping a cup and bringing it to the mouth, are learned. A newborn baby would not be able to accomplish such a task, but over time, through practice, skills are fine tuned.

Gross motor skills or large muscle development may be encouraged by providing ride-on equipment.
Gross motor skills or large muscle development may be encouraged by providing ride-on equipment.

Childhood experiences play a role in the development of motor skills. When the human brain is allowed to experience movement such as running, climbing or sailing, it stores the experiences and is better able to accomplish them next time. The child who is taken fishing frequently will be a better fisherman than the child who goes fishing only once. This is because these skills are learned, such as how to cast the rod and how to balance in a boat.

Fine motor skills require the coordination of small muscles, often involving the hands and fingers.
Fine motor skills require the coordination of small muscles, often involving the hands and fingers.

Children repeat actions over and over until they are refined, for example, climbing steps without tripping. Motor skills become more fluid and accurate, removing characteristic childhood clumsiness. Practice is performed until no thought is required to perform the skills, for example, riding a bike.

Motor skills are also learned and refined in adulthood. If a woman takes up belly dancing, her first movements will not closely resemble that of the teacher. Overtime however, she will learn how to control her muscles to make the signature movements that a belly dancer makes.

Children often engage in activities that build fine motor skills while in elementary school.
Children often engage in activities that build fine motor skills while in elementary school.

Genetic factors also affect the development of motor skills, for example, the children of a professional dancer are far more likely to be good at dancing, with good coordination and muscular control, than the children of a biochemist. Gross motor skills are usually learned during childhood and require a large group of muscles to perform actions, such as balancing or crawling. Fine motor skills involve smaller groups of muscles and are used for fine tasks, such as threading a needle or playing a computer game. These skills can be forgotten if disused over time.

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    • Fine motor skills use small muscle groups for small-scale tasks, like needlepoint.
      By: Steven Latour
      Fine motor skills use small muscle groups for small-scale tasks, like needlepoint.
    • Gross motor skills or large muscle development may be encouraged by providing ride-on equipment.
      By: ChGuss
      Gross motor skills or large muscle development may be encouraged by providing ride-on equipment.
    • Fine motor skills require the coordination of small muscles, often involving the hands and fingers.
      By: auremar
      Fine motor skills require the coordination of small muscles, often involving the hands and fingers.
    • Children often engage in activities that build fine motor skills while in elementary school.
      By: Petro Feketa
      Children often engage in activities that build fine motor skills while in elementary school.
    • Completing various art projects may help a child perfect her or his motor skills.
      By: DragonImages
      Completing various art projects may help a child perfect her or his motor skills.
    • Babies are born with  an underdeveloped nervous system that needs to learn about the world through experiences.
      By: dechevm
      Babies are born with an underdeveloped nervous system that needs to learn about the world through experiences.
    • Childhood experiences play a role in the development of motor skills.
      By: micromonkey
      Childhood experiences play a role in the development of motor skills.
    • Walking is a gross motor skill that is generally learned during an infant's first year of life.
      By: Galina Barskaya
      Walking is a gross motor skill that is generally learned during an infant's first year of life.