Gross Motor Skills

Examples of Gross Motors Skills

• standing and walking 

• running, climbing and jumping 

• sitting upright at the table 

• eye-hand coordination skills such as ball skills (throwing, catching, kicking) as well as 

• riding a bike or a scooter

• sporting skills e.g. swimming

• everyday self care skills like dressing (where you need to be able to stand on one leg to put your leg into a pant leg without falling over) 

Impact of Gross Motor Skills Issues

• They involve the coordination of the muscles and the neurological system. They impact balance and coordination. They also form the basis for fine motor skills that help us make small movements like using a pencil.

• Having poor gross motor skills can impact people in all areas of life. It can make it hard to do key tasks and school, work, and home. Difficulty with motor skills can also take a toll on self-esteem.

• Gross motor skills affect wellbeing and give children opportunities to socialise in play. Confidence and coordination in gross motor skills are essential for children in developing their fine motor skills

• Gross motor skills impact on your endurance to cope with a full day of school (sitting upright at a desk, moving between classrooms, carrying your heavy school bag). 

• They also impact your ability to navigate your environment (e.g. walking around classroom items such as a desk, up a sloped playground hill or to get on and off a moving escalator).  

• Gross motor abilities have an influence on other everyday functions:

  • A child’s ability to maintain appropriate table top posture (upper body support) will affect their ability to participate in fine motor skills (e.g. writing, drawing and cutting) and sitting upright to attend to class instruction, which then impacts on their academic learning. 

• Without fair gross motor skills, a child will struggle with many day to day tasks such as eating, packing away their toys, and getting onto and off the toilet or potty.