Activities to Promote Physical Development

Motivate Movement

• Occasionally, a young child will be delayed in some areas of motor movement because she has no incentive to move. If every toy your child has is put within her reach, whether by your or her helpful siblings, she will have less necessity to move about. Give your baby the motivation to move by putting her on her tummy and putting her favorite toy just out of her reach. You may need to assist her in moving toward the toy if she is not yet crawling or creeping, but she should at least be making some forward motions in an attempt to access the toy, and will thus be developing some early motor skills.

Bubbles

• Bubbles typically delight young children. They can also provide for an array of opportunities to work of physical development. Lead your child in playing a game by following your instructions to pop the bubbles using different methods. Start by having your child clap the bubbles to pop them. When he masters that, have him pop the bubbles with just one finger. You can even catch a bubble on the end of your wand to help your child easily access it. Both of these methods will promote eye-hand coordination in your child. Additionally, you can also instruct your child to kick, stomp and hop on the bubbles to pop them, which will further promote motor skill development.

Visit the Playground

• Playgrounds were not designed by accident. Engineers often put a lot of time and thought into the types of activities a playground design will promote, whether it is balance, eye-hand coordination or strength. Take your child to a playground and lead her in participating in the different activities available. She may simply see it as time spent playing, but she will be developing plenty of motor skills as she uses her feet to pump on the swing, climbs up stairs and ladders to access slides and uses her upper body strength to cross a set of monkey bars.