Building Your Baby's Motor Skills

[x]   Tags: gross motor skills, fine motor skills, motor skills development, rolling over, sitting up, stacking, building blocks, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills for toddlers, developing motor skills, gross motor skill development, baby motor skills, toddler motor skills: baby development, developmental milestones, growing baby, infant, baby, tips for new moms, parenting, new parents, baby care, infant care, pediatrician, doctor: health video, medical videos, medical, video

[x]   Transcript: The best thing about teaching your baby basic motor skills? You can disguise those lessons as play! By the time your baby reaches six months, your little one should probably have no problem rolling over and sitting up on unaided. One game that infants of this age love involves meticulously stacking objects. To play with your infant, gather objects of similar sizes that can be easily layered on top of one another. Building blocks, cereal boxes, and plastic cups are all great for this activity. Depending on your infant's age, he may need some help creating his stacked structure, although he'll have NO problem knocking it down unassisted! This simple stacking game allows your baby to develop gross motor skills, which involve the biggest muscles, like his arms. The activity ALSO helps encourage FINE motor skills, which engage small muscles, like the fingers. Additionally, stacking and destroying help your baby learn all about cause and effect. Soon your eight-month-old will be ready for yet another educational activity: filling and emptying containers. To encourage this, offer plastic Tupperware in various sizes, several spoons or shovels, and a variety of things to pour. Some good choices include oatmeal, seashells, sand, and O-shaped cereal. Get your baby started by pouring seashells into one container, or scooping up oatmeal with a shovel. Keep in mind that this activity can get messy, so consider putting a plastic tablecloth on the floor! Filling containers is a huge boost to your baby's fine motor skills and his hand-eye coordination. In the coming months, your baby will learn to crawl, cruise, or even walk, offering you even more opportunities to help gross motor skills develop. A great way to do so is by creating a baby-friendly obstacle course in your living room. Set up a series of barriers, like stuffed animals, books, and even a chair, around the room. Then, take your baby's hand or crawl with him, guiding him over, around, and under those objects. Aside from gross motor skills, this game helps your baby develop balance, coordination, and lower body strength. When playing ANY game with your infant, remember that your little one will pick up activities at his own pace. Be patient during the process, and allow yourself to enjoy the games as much as your baby will!

[x]   Bio:

Dr. Marleigh Moscatel practices Pediatrics in Croton on Hudson, New York. Credentials: Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin U-Med & ScienceMD , Medicine , 1994 — 1998Honors in Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology, Histology Activities and Societies: Alpha Omega Alpha (inducted in my 3rd year)University of California, Los AngelesBA , Psychology , 1991 — 1992 Activities and Societies: Golden Key National Honor Society, Magna Cum LaudeNorthwestern UniversityTheater, Pre-Med 1988 — 1990