Motor Skills Matter

Motor Skills Matter Tara Liddle, Catherine Andrasko
Board-Certified Pediatric Physical Therapists
Developmental Experts

12/30/2025

Push toys are a fun and exciting new avenue to play for your “pre-toddler”. Now that your child is expressing interest in standing and perhaps taking steps, using one of these toys may be beneficial for your child. But when and how should you use it?

There are certain movements we look at prior to introducing a push toy. Introducing it too early can impact:
🚨safety and balance due to a lack of control and coordination of momentum
🚨gait patterns if used before establishing a sense of balance.
⏰So timing is everything!

💫 Prerequisite 1️⃣: Cruising
Cruising tells us that your child has strength to pull up and motor coordination to learn to move their legs reciprocally to get from point A to point
B. Kids who are pulling to stand and not really moving yet, are leaning on the surface with their bellies to play, and/or reluctant to let go with at least one hand are not ready for a push toy as they are showing signs of not having enough strength to stand upright and lacking balance

💫Prerequisite 2️⃣: letting go with 1 hand
Letting go with 1 hand shows an improvement in lower body strength, core strength, balance and coordination. All of which are important to have when introducing a toy that moves. Being able to control balance and momentum with a moveable surface is super important for safety. Additionally, increased confidence with letting go while standing and playing is a good indicator of postural control

💫 Prerequisite 3️⃣: ability to stand alone
The ability to stand alone simply means that when support is taken away, your child is able to maintain their balance. This is an important display of strength and, more importantly. balance. The next developmental step after independent standing is stepping outside of that base of support. This is the ideal time to introduce a push toy. Your child now has a sense of balance, body awareness, but needs help controlling their movement while not creating an over-reliance to control momentum.

Once your child is showing signs of all these prerequisites, watch them take off! Next stop: independent walking! 👣

12/25/2025

Attentive-Incentive Thursday!

Merry Christmas!!!

12/25/2025

Tis the season for…presents!

Opening presents provides a multitude benefits! While the point of opening a gift is to see what’s inside, believe it or not, your child is practicing a lot of motor skills

🎁Fine motor skills:
Peeling back, ripping off wrapping paper or removing tissue paper from a bag your child is using a lot of fine motor skills and shoulder control. Being able to pinch a piece of paper or unwrap a bow utilizes a lot of little muscles and coordination skills to get to the present

🎁Sitting balance:
Using the arms and moving a large or small object in their hands while sitting requires good core strength, coordination to reach across the body and balance to remain sitting while opening a package

🎁Hand/eye and body coordination:
Is enhanced while opening presents to manipulate the object, maintain balance, and unwrap

🎁Learning cause and effect:
Tearing off wrapping paper and opening a box/bag to get to a fun toy? No better way to learn cause and effect relationships, understanding opening and closing of boxes, and positive feedback loops.

So while all the presents have been, and are being, opened this week remember your children are practicing fun, foundational skills!

12/23/2025

Why do kids need core control?

Core strength the foundation and the anchor of everything we do and building it begins during infancy. If a child does not have a strong core, it can affect body positioning from head to toes!

Core strength enables children to
⭐️ assume and maintain an upright posture while standing and sitting without support
⭐️ balance while walking, running or jumping
⭐️ coordinate their arms and legs while moving and playing
⭐️ concentrate on skills and tasks in the classroom
⭐️ understand where their body is in space

Strong core muscles are critical for both gross and fine motor development of a child. Lack of core stability can not only make certain motor skills difficult to perform but can also lead to pain as a teenager and adult

A function of core muscles that is often overlooked is the importance for posture and performing activities while sitting.

If a child has poor core control and posture sitting at a desk, fine motor activities such as writing and cutting can be extremely difficult.

When a child’s energy is focused on trying to maintain balance in sitting, it can takeaway from other skills and concepts that may require significant concentration as they are being learned

Other signs of core weakness include
⭐️ “W” sitting
⭐️ Difficulty sitting upright/slouched sitting
⭐️ Poor tolerance to hands and knees when crawling
⭐️ Difficulty with kneeling play
⭐️ Balance challenges with running, jumping & stairs
⭐️ Difficulty with with control and accuracy while writing and cutting with scissors

How to build core strength?
💫 The best way children build strength is by participating in unstructured, spontaneous play. The more diverse and varied the movements are, the better they can gain the strength needed for everyday tasks.

🌟 In infancy: varying the positions they play in from tummy time, sidelying and back play

🌟 As children get older, activities such as: riding bikes, climbing up ladders and stairs, running, swimming, skating, riding scooters, and jumping, all work to build up core strength

Core strength questions? Drop them below!

12/19/2025

Attentive-Incentive Thursday

12/18/2025

Have you ever seen a child who mildly struggled with milestones start daycare or school and suddenly their milestones take off?

This is because social experiences influence motor development since children are highly susceptible to learning from others. Mimicking and copying are not only great forms of flattery but also ways children try to keep up with each other. Younger siblings and peers will attempt to do the same tasks of older children or attempt skills they have not tried before with age-matched peers.

Motor development can influence infants’ and toddlers’ social experiences.
⭐️ Children who can walk or run may be able to play with other children on a playground.
⭐️ Kids can engage in sports and physical activities with their friends.

Motor develeopment also helps to teach social skills:
⭐️ Sharing
⭐️ Taking turns
⭐️ Rules
⭐️ Collaboration
⭐️ Emotional expression

Studies have found found positive correlations between motor and social skills, indicating that children with more developed motor skills also displayed more developed social skills.

Additional studies have found:
⭐️ Postural control brings new parts of the environment into view and into reach
⭐️ Locomotion makes the larger world accessible
⭐️ Manual skills promote new forms of interactions with objects
⭐️ Motor skills involving every part of the body enhance opportunities for social interaction

Have you seen this correlation with your child/children?

12/17/2025

Curious why your toddler is obsessed with cars, dinosaurs, or dolls and their understanding around a particular topic?

Known as “intense interest” in child development circles, it often happens in the two to six-year-old age range for a couple of reasons
1️⃣The interest in pretend play and imaginary worlds is generally at its highest between ages three and five
2️⃣ Kids this age are wired to focus intently on just a few things

One study found that sustained intense interests can help children develop
⭐️ increased knowledge and persistence
⭐️ a better attention span
⭐️ deeper information-processing skills

The way that children study their preferred category of toy is a precursor to the strategies they’ll use to face new situations and problems throughout their lives. They’ll ask questions and look for answers on their own developing their independent learning and motivation and problem solving strategies too.

Typically the specific interest wanes as they begin longer days of school where they have to focus on many different topics

Infatuation with one topic or toy might understandably raise concern for parents. Independently, it’s generally nothing to worry about. But if you are worried, don’t hesitate to discuss it with your pediatrician!

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