Introduction
Gross motor skills and fine motor skills are two distinct categories of physical development that children go through and enhance from infancy through adulthood. Gross motor skills are the larger movements of the legs, arms, feet, and torso that involve balance and coordination (Thunder et al., 2021). Examples of gross motor skills include running, crawling, throwing, and jumping. Meanwhile, fine motor skills are smaller, more precise movements involving the use of hands and fingers. Examples of fine motor skills are buttoning, dressing, tying, and writing.
Discussion
Gross motor skills are commonly associated with physical activities, such as running and jumping. Also, they are developed through physical play and exploration (Thunder et al., 2021). Gross motor skills can help a child develop coordination, balance, and strength. It is possible to participate in gross motor activities at any age, as long as the latter are age-appropriate. In their turn, fine motor skills generally involve the use of small objects or tools, such as a pencil, a pen, or scissors. Fine motor activities help a child develop hand-eye coordination and dexterity. Fine motor activities may include cutting, coloring, drawing, and writing. It is possible and suitable to participate in fine motor activities as soon as a child is able to do so safely.
In summary, gross motor skills involve larger movements of the legs, arms, feet, and torso and are typically developed through physical play and exploration. Meanwhile, fine motor skills involve smaller and more concrete movements and are typically generated through activities such as coloring, drawing, and writing. Both types of motor skills are highly significant for a child’s development, and it is important to provide age-appropriate tasks to encourage children’s participation in those tasks.
The balance progression program that is required to be designed will begin with static exercises that focus on promoting a steady and controlled movement. These exercises will be used to build strength and proprioceptive awareness in the muscles that are involved in balance. Static exercises are the ones that involve holding a position for a certain period of time, such as standing on a wobbleboard or balancing on one foot. These exercises help enhance overall balance and stability. Static exercises may include wall squats, one-legged balancing, and single-leg bridges.
Once the participant has built an adequate foundation of strength and proprioceptive awareness, dynamic exercises can be added to the program. These exercises involve movement, such as stepping up and down on a step, walking on a balance beam, or hopping on one foot. Dynamic exercises are aimed at improving coordination, agility, and strength. These exercises focus on building coordination and stability through rapid, multi-directional movements. Dynamic exercises may include single-leg step-ups, single-leg hops, and lateral shuffles.
Conclusion
The program will then move on to more complex exercises incorporating elements of quickness and agility. These exercises may include cone drills and agility ladder drills, which require the participant to move quickly while maintaining balance. Finally, to ensure that the program is all-encompassing and effective, it will include exercises requiring the participant to move quickly in all directions while maintaining balance. These exercises may include medicine ball throws, jumping on and off boxes, and plyometric exercises. Overall, the design of this balance progression program is aimed at developing agility, strength, coordination, proprioception, stability, and quickness. By gradually doing exercises of growing difficulty, the participant will be able to promote their balance and reduce their risk of injury.
Reference
Thunder, K., Almarode, J., & Hattie, J. (2021). Visible learning in early childhood. Corwin.