Locomotor and Stability Skills in Childhood

Locomotor and Stability Skills in Early Childhood

Introduction

  • Focus on locomotor and stability skills during early childhood (ages 2-6).

Questions to Ponder

  • Key terms related to motor competency.
  • Definition and understanding of Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS).
  • Levels of competency in selected locomotor skills.
  • Factors facilitating and interfering with locomotive skill acquisition.
  • Interactions of motor, cognitive, and affective development.
  • Research methods for studying emergence of FMS.

Early Childhood Development

  • Progression from acquiring movement skills to becoming adept movers (ages 2-6).
  • Development of new abilities and refinement of existing movement skills.
  • Essential content knowledge for movement specialists:
    • Fundamental movement skills.
    • Research methods for studying these skills.
    • Factors influencing skilled movement.
    • Factors that hinder movement development.
    • Facilitation of skilled movement.

Terminology and Definitions

  • Motor Skill:
    • A task requiring voluntary body and/or limb movements to achieve a specific goal.
    • Success determined primarily by the quality of movement.
  • Motor Ability:
    • General trait influencing achievement potential in skill performance.
  • Motor Proficiency:
    • Measure of motor development based on gross and fine motor skill development.
  • Motor Performance:
    • Temporary changes observed in movement behavior, influenced by various factors.
  • Motor Coordination:
    • Ability to coordinate muscle activation while maintaining posture during movement.

Development of Motor Skills

  • Distinction between innate and practice-based motor skills:
    • Skills like walking, chewing require less practice.
    • Skills like golf, piano, dance require considerable practice.
  • Factors influencing motor skills:
    1. Task organization/demands:
    • Multiple vs. single tasks.
    • Impact of sensory loss.
    1. Individual capabilities:
    • Cognition, flexibility, strength/power.
    1. Environmental constraints:
    • Surface type, lighting, predictability.

Motor Ability

  • Motor ability relates specifically to performance in motor skills.
  • Terminology related to abilities:
    • Psychomotor ability.
    • Perceptual-motor ability.
  • Difference between ability and skill:
    • Ability: stable traits underlying skills; unmodifiable through practice.
    • Skill: combination of abilities; modifiable through practice.

Achievement Potential and Performance

  • Abilities establish pre-determined capacity influencing success in skills.
  • Performance may differ among individuals with similar training due to varying underlying motor abilities.

Categories Affecting Motor Skill Performance

  • Motor performance is influenced by:
    1. General intelligence/cognitive ability.
    2. Perceptual speed ability.
    3. Motor ability.
  • Three categories of abilities impacting overall performance:
    • General cognitive abilities (e.g., memory processing).
    • Perceptual speed, impacting problem solving and processing speed.
    • Motor ability, focusing on movement speed and accuracy.

Stability and Motor Control

  • Stability definitions:
    1. Joint resistance to dislocation.
    2. Coordination of neuromuscular actions for maintaining joint control.
  • Motor control involves:
    • Regulation and coordination of voluntary movements.
    • Integration of conscious and subconscious controls.

Motor Skill Types

  • Mobility:
    • Characterized by movement capabilities: being on feet, changing position, and location.
  • Stability:
    • Static vs. dynamic motor control defined by maintaining support and controlling joint movements.
  • Strength and Power:
    • Definitions of strength relative to force exerted on objects.
    • Power measured as energy exerted over time: $P = \frac{w}{t}$.

Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS)

  • Categories of FMS:
    • Stability skills (non-locomotor).
    • Locomotor skills (moving through space).
    • Manipulative skills (action with objects).
  • Importance of FMS in developing complex movement combinations in sports, gymnastics, and dance.

Examples of FMS

  • Locomotor Skills:
    • Walking, running, hopping, skipping, galloping.
  • Stability Skills:
    • Balancing, twisting, bending, bracing, etc.
  • Manipulative Skills:
    • Throwing, catching, striking, dribbling, etc.

Skill Development Patterns

  • Skills develop predictably:
    • Sequence from mobility to refined movement.
    • Relationship between individual, environmental, and task-related constraints influencing skill emergence.
  • Initial Stages of Motor Skills:
    • Initial stage characterized by wide base of support, flat-footed contact.

Walking Development

  • Stages of Walking:
    • Initial Stage: Wide base, minimal trunk rotation, rigid movements.
    • Elementary Stage: Narrower base, heel strikes, increased trunk rotation.
    • Competent Stage: Heel-to-toe contact, decreased base width, oppositional arm swing.

Understanding Running

  • Running characterized by:
    • Reciprocal arm and leg action.
    • Flight phase absent during double-support phase of walking.
  • Stages of Running:
    • Initial Stage: Arm over-exaggeration, minimal flight.
    • Elementary Stage: Low guard arm position, heel-toe strikes.
    • Competent Stage: Arm-leg opposition, enhanced stride length.

Jumping Techniques

  • Different forms:
    • Leap, hop, vertical, and horizontal jump.
  • Stages of Jumping:
    • Initial Stage: Limited preparatory crouch, minimal arm swing.
    • Elementary Stage: Deeper crouch, arms move with increased forward swing.
    • Competent Stage: Deep crouch, vigorous arm and leg movements during take-off.

Complex Movement Patterns

  • Galloping, Sliding, Skipping:
    • Combination of movement patterns, requiring coordination and strength.
    • Galloping is first to be mastered, leading to sliding and skipping.
    • Skipping is the most complex skill, developed last around ages 6-7.

Summary and Importance

  • Understanding FMS is crucial for children's development and participation in activities.
  • Design of developmentally appropriate movement programs is necessary for fostering motivation and skill acquisition.
  • Research-backed educational experiences are vital for lifelong engagement in physical activity.