Look closely at motor skills

Babies become more independent with each passing day as they participate and engage in the world around them. They begin the process of developing their motor skills from the moment they are born.  Motor development falls into two categories: fine motor and gross motor. Both these skills begin to develop from birth. Fine motor skills are the coordination of small muscle movements which occur in hands, fingers and thumbs and are usually in coordination with the eyes. Fine motor involves functions such as writing, grasping small objects and fastening clothing, and it requires strength, fine motor control and dexterity. These skills are very important for children in most school activities and in life in general. 

On the other hand, gross motor skills involve the large muscles of the body that enable such functions as walking, kicking, sitting upright, lifting and throwing a ball etc. In their own way, both motor abilities are extremely important for a healthy baby; in fact, there are instances where gross motor ability shares connections with fine motor ability, for example, a child’s ability to maintain upper body support will affect his ability to write. Hence, parents must keep track of milestones their babies are expected to cross where these skills are concerned. They can also help develop motor skills and refine them further with the help of appropriate toys such as Lego Blocks, Baby Puzzles, Plastic Building Blocks, Peg and Hole toys etc.

In conjunction with motor skills there are other factors also that ascertain how intelligent babies really are, such as visual, auditory, sensory and tactile stimulation. These important aspects play a key role in a child’s learning and can be improved with increased frequency, intensity and duration. Parents who are aware of skills and stimulatory factors present in a newborn are better at telling if their baby is more special or unique than another. Essentially, they must maintain a developmental chart for their baby and ensure that they do not restrain it to logging height and weight alone, especially as there are a number of other important childhood milestones to keep watch for. Updating this chart regularly will enable them to measure any unusual activity in their baby that might be indicative of a genius in their midst.