The Power of Parenting

Thursday, 12 November 2020

Gross Motor Development: 25 to 30 Months

Gross Motor Development allows a child to gain balance and bring large muscles under control in order to master physical activities such as sitting, crawling, walking, running, climbing, jumping and generally enjoy all that his body allows him to do.

Typical Skills
  • Walks backward and sideways
  • Walks upstairs and downstairs alone, both feet on one step
  • Runs without falling
  • Jumps in place, both feet off the floor
  • Climbs on a riding toy and makes it go using both feet at the same time
Emerging Skills
  • Walks on narrow balance beam
  • Walks upstairs and downstairs, alternating feet, holding the handrail
  • Runs, avoiding obstacles
  • Jumps forward
  • Pedals a tricycle

Play
If you do this:
Your Toddler will:

  • Join in pretend play and move with your toddler, jumping like mother and baby frogs, slithering like daddy and baby snakes
  • Praise your toddler’s efforts when she runs at the park or goes down the slide
  • Do knee bounces like “To Market, To Market”
  • Know that you enjoy playing with her and will be able to practice different actions by using his imagination
  • Develop confidence in her ability to test her physical abilities
  • Enjoy being cuddled while you bounce and giggle together
Play
If you do this:
Your Toddler will:

  • Play different music and encourage your toddler to explore different movements like jumping, rolling, stretching, marching and walking
  • Set up some plastic bottles for bowling pins so your toddler can knock them down with a ball
  • Play “Sleeping bunnies,” substituting different actions and creatures like birds, horses and elephants
  • Make comparisons between each movement and learn to match them to different music styles, speeds
  • Be able to practice coordinating arm movements and aiming a ball
  • Be able to explore different movements like flying, galloping and stomping
Teach
If you do this:
Your Toddler will:

  • Play simple movement games where your toddler can stop and go, change directions, move quickly or slowly
  • Sing songs like “If you’re happy and you know it,” naming body parts and doing different actions
  • Demonstrate different movements like marching, bending, stretching and encourage your toddler to copy
  • Learn several concepts through movement like stop/go, fast/slow, backward/forward, up/down
  • Be able to label his body parts and learn that shoulders shrug, feet stomp, hands clap, knees bend and hips twist
  • Feel encouraged to explore new physical skills by following your example