Building Baby Motor Skills

How can you help your little one develop strength and coordination? Check out these tips for building itty-bitty biceps, triceps, and more.

Large motor skills (also called gross motor skills) will give your baby the strength and coordination he needs to progress from sitting to crawling to walking to running to all manner of physical activities and sports. To build those bitsy biceps, triceps, and more, mix things up often, moving your child from crib to floor to seat or from tummy to back and vice versa. Different positions stimulate different muscles and encourage different motions (like push-ups from his tummy or leaning forward to reach a toy when he's seated upright). You can show him what to do by moving his arms and legs yourself — say, pulling him up into a sitting position or lifting his belly into a crawling posture. Eventually, he'll take over and start practicing on his own.

Small motor skills (aka fine motor skills) are a big deal, too. Eventually, these will enable your baby to feed and dress himself, to draw and write, and to pluck flowers from the garden. Giving him lots of objects and textures to handle and explore will strengthen his hands and fingers and make them more sensitive and dexterous. Toys that boost fine motor development include blocks (all shapes, sizes, and textures), balls (again, a variety), stuffed animals and dolls, activity boards, and household items (the real thing or toy versions) such as kitchen utensils, remote controls, and keys. Another super skill builder: Finger-plays — songs with accompanying hand motions — such as "Pat-a-Cake" or "Itsy-Bitsy Spider."