Question

Describe differences in the gross motor development. How do these differences illustrate the cephalocaudal and proximodistal principles?

Answer 1

• Gross motor development is the neurodevelopmental process of acquiring motor abilities during infancy and childhood.

        - Gross motor skills are those that require whole body movement involving large muscles of the body.

       Various milestones in the gross motor development are as follows:

      

AGE	DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
0-6 months	Neck holding Rolls over sits with support sits without support
6-12 months	Crawls forwards on belly gets seated without aid creeps on hands and knees changes into different positions pulls self to stand walks while holding on to the furniture walks 2-3 steps without support
18 months	sits, crawls and walks walking and running becomes less clumsy than previous stages
2 years	walks smoothly, turns corners begins running able to pull or carry a toy while walking walks up and down steps with support picks up toys from the floor without falling
3 years	imitates standing on one foot imitates simple bilateral movements climbs ladders pedals a tricycle walks up or downstairs with alternating feet jumps with two feet in place tip toes catches using body
4 years	kicks a ball throws a ball overarm runs around obstacles able to walk on a line able to hop jumps over an object
6 years	able to skip using a skipping rope able to walk on a balance beam can cover two metres hopping mature throwing and catching mature jumping

Cephalocaudal principle of development :

Starting in the gestational period the development of body takes place in the direction of head towards feet.

Head is the first to develop so that initially length of the head corresponds to 30 % of the total length. Later as the limbs and the trunk develop, this changes to around 12 % by 10 years of age.

Motor development also shows this cephalocaudal pattern. If one can see, motor development begins in the head (neck holding) and then the trunk (sitting) and then the movement and stability of the upper limbs (using upper limbs to take the support for the lower limbs like while walking with support, crawling-etc ), and then finally the lower limbs (running,jumping, hopping, running).

Proximodistal principle:

It is the development of the body and the motor skills from within outwards.

This principle also emphasises the prior development of proximal parts(nearer to the centre of the body) in the limbs to the distal parts (farther from the body) which also begins in the gestational period.

As one can see, motor development of the trunk which is proximal to the upper and the lower limbs occurs first as evidenced by rolling over, sitting, creeping on belly occuring prior to others.

Also in each limb the proximal movement like that in sitting, crawling, standing, taking support(important for gross movements, stability and force) develops first than the distal movement like that in catching, throwing, hopping, walking on a beam of a balance, kicking-etc (important for fine movements, mature movements, accurate movements).

Thus the differences in gross motor development illustrate the cephalocaudal and the proximodistal principles.