L4+Locomotor+and+Stability+Skills+in+Childhood

Locomotor and Stability Skills in Early Childhood

Introduction to Early Childhood Movement Skills

  • Ages 2 to 6 are critical for developing movement skills and becoming efficient movers.
  • New abilities appear, while existing skills become refined, flexible, and functional.

Fundamental Movement Skills

  • Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) are essential components that develop during early childhood.
  • Categories of FMS include locomotor skills, stability skills, and manipulative skills.
  • Importance in future complex movements for sports, gymnastics, and dance.

Research Questions

  • What terms describe motor competency?
  • What are the Fundamental Movement Skills?
  • What are the levels of competency in selected locomotor skills?
  • What factors facilitate or interfere with locomotor skills?
  • How do motor development, cognitive development, and affective development interact?
  • Methods used to study fundamental movement skills.

Motor Competency Definitions

  • Researchers clarify terminology related to movement competency since Vern Seefelt's framework in 1980.
  • Ambiguities in terms include:
    • Motor skill
    • Motor ability
    • Motor proficiency
    • Motor performance
    • Motor coordination

Understanding Motor Skills

  • Motor Skill: A task requiring voluntary motion to achieve specific goals, with success dependent on the quality of movement.
  • Types:
    • Gross motor skills: Control of large muscles.
    • Fine motor skills: Control of small, precise muscles.

Influencing Factors for Motor Skills

  • Influences of motor skills:
    1. Task organization/demands
    2. Individual capabilities (flexibility, strength/power)
    3. Environmental constraints (surface type, lighting).
  • Individual capability examples: Cognition, flexibility, strength/power.

Concepts of Motor Ability

  • Motor Ability: General trait influencing performance potential of specific skills; often inherited or genetically determined.
  • Distinction between ability and skill:
    • Ability: Underlying inherent traits; stable; not learned.
    • Skill: Composed of multiple abilities; modifiable through practice.

Achievement Potential

  • Ability influences success levels in skills; differences in motor abilities explain variations in performance among trained individuals.

Motor Proficiency and Performance

  • Motor proficiency is key for gross and fine motor skill development.
  • Motor performance refers to behavioral changes during practice sessions, influenced by various factors, including:
    1. General intelligence/cognitive abilities
    2. Perceptual speed ability
    3. Motor ability

Motor Coordination

  • Coordination of muscle activation preserves posture and governs movement.
  • Relevant in activities requiring complex movement sequences (e.g., Olympic lifts).

Development During Early Childhood

  • Interaction between perception and action is crucial.
  • Movement skills develop predictably: Mobility, stability (static/dynamic), strength, power.
  • Mobility characteristics:
    • Being on feet
    • Changing position
    • Changing location

Stability and Motor Control

  • Stability defined as:
    1. Ability of joints to resist dislocation.
    2. Neuromuscular coordination for joint control.
  • Factors influencing stability: COG height, base of support, alignment of gravity, surface properties.

Testing Strength and Power

  • Strength: Defined as