Importance of Foundational Movement Skills for Children

Foundational Movement Skills
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Date Foundational Movement Skills Foundational movement skills are essential in young children since they form the basis for future skills involving body parts such as arms, legs, and the head. Children can thus effectively participate in activities such as games or recreation sports by gaining these skills. Developing these skills at an early age ultimately enables children to be agile, maintain balance and coordinate their body parts (Hulteen et al., 2018). Essential foundation movement skills that should be learned early include locomotor skills, object control, and body control. Locomotor skills involve the whole body’s movement to different locations through running, jumping, or crawling. Body control skills also require balancing the body when engaging in other activities such as turning, swinging, landing, or stopping. Lastly, object control involves using and controlling objects with the hands or feet, such as kicking, catching, or bouncing (Hulteen et al., 2018). Gaining these skills improves competency and should be learned as early as possible to prevent developmental complications. Movement further forms a critical stage in the growth and development of children and should be encouraged due to its immense benefits. At a young age, movement should come naturally and should be encouraged to develop the appropriate complementary skills required for future development (Brewer & Jalongo, 2018). Firstly, children get the opportunity to learn through trial and error since they can connect different aspects of concepts with specific actions. Secondly, the movement also assists in the development of the brain since infants and young children grow and learn quickly at this point in their lives. This means that infants can develop intellectually by coming into contact with different aspects of reality, enabling the development of abstract ideas. Apart from that, infants can also explore and learn through movement due to their curiosi...