Development of Human Motor Control

The development of motor controls in human infants manifests itself in two stages. Gross motor control, the ability to make large movements, such as moving an arm or leg, develops first. Fine motor control skills, the ability to make small, precise movements, such as picking up an object, develop later.

Significance

• Motor control development occurs as an infant matures. Gross motor controls typically occur automatically and require a coordination of the muscles, bones and signals sent from the brain. Fine motor control is a sign that an infant is beginning to learn because it requires experience and obtainment of information, in addition to physical skills.

Features

• Motor control involves all the movements that a human being makes. Gross motor control eventually becomes fine motor control as an infant develops and refines their motor control into more graceful and precise movements. Most children have fully developed their motor control by age 6.

Warnings

• Parents should be on the look out for potential warning signs that a child is not developing their fine motor controls at an appropriate rate. By one year, a child should be able to hold a crayon in their hand. At two years, the child should be able to draw a vertical line. Slowness in motor control development may be a sign of a lesion in the muscles or spinal cord.