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The following points highlight the six main trends in motor development of a child. The trends are: 1. Mass to specific trends 2. Trend from large to small muscles 3. Cephalocaudal and proximodistal trends 4. Bilateral to unilateral trend 5. Maximum towards minimum muscular involvement trends 6. General orderliness of motor development.
1. Mass to specific trends:
To begin with, the movements are made by the entire body, but slowly only certain muscles or groups of muscles respond. In other words, the muscular reactions of the child become more and more selective and adaptive.
2. Trend from large to small muscles:
The large muscles are the first muscular groups over which the developing child gains coordinated control.
3. Cephalocaudal and proximodistal trends:
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There is a law of developmental direction in motor development. Control appears first in the head region and spreads progressively down the trunk of the body until the feet are reached. For example, the infant can lift, his head in his first week of life, but can stand on his feet not before the end of the first year.
Again, motor development occurs earlier in those structures which are lying nearest to the main axis than in those in a more remote area. Muscle control for example, appears much sooner in the arms than in the fingers.
4. Bilateral to unilateral trend:
As the human child matures, bilaterality in terms of speed, strength, coordination and personal preference gradually gives way to a unilateral functioning in motor skill. This can be illustrated well by hand preference. As the child grows older, he uses one hand more consistently.
5. Maximum towards minimum muscular involvement trends:
The more immature the child, the greater is the muscular involvement on the part of the child. There is a great amount of cross purpose muscular involvement and subsequently a great expenditure of muscular energy. When the child learns to walk, there is an over- production of movement. Children show a lot of fidgeting and restlessness when they are trying to master new motor skills.
6. General orderliness of motor development:
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There seems to be an orderly sequence in the motor development of children. Shirley’s study brings out the fact that eye coordination occurred first, followed by postural control in the head region and later in trunk. This is followed by a final co-ordination of leg movements which makes possible for the child to creep, crawl, stand and walk. This is supported by Hurlock when she says that there is motor development in the head region first, followed by motor development of the arms and hands and motor development of the legs.
Though motor development follows a pattern of sequence that is inflexible in its broader aspects, there is an evidence of individual, differences that some children skip some of the phases of sequence, others may be behind schedule in developing control over their hands on account of fewer opportunities for practice and still others may be ahead of schedule in walking as a result of encouragement.
Other factors that may cause individual differences are intelligence, health and environmental stimulation. This leads up to a consideration of another fact that development of muscle-control comes partly as a result of maturation and partly from learning.
In other words, it depends on the maturation of neural structure, bones and muscles and a change in body proportions as well as on the opportunities of learning how to use the different muscle teams in a coordinated manner. Teaching must follow maturation in order to bear fruit.
Certain motor skills and their development are more important than others. There are skills in self-feeding, self-dressing, writing climbing, jumping and ball-throwing.
Delayed Motor Development:
Delayed motor development not only prevents the child from attaining independence of actions, it also interferes with the social development of the child. Children with delayed motor development find their movements clumsy, awkward and uncoordinated; hence, they hesitate to join in the play activities of the group. They become self-conscious, shy and remain dependent and may develop feeling of inferiority which cause them to withdraw from the social group. This is how unsocial attitudes and behaviour develop.