Motor Development

 

The field of motor development is a fascinating topic. I will present a unique perspective on the subject here. It is not like anything you have read so far. A challenging, out-of-the-box look at the issue of motor development and the motor skills involved.

I will present an approach that does not place the brain at the center of the event. The brain is just one part of the whole, and sometimes it is accompanying rather than dictating. And why do I mean that? Let's start from the beginning.

Until the fetus leaves the womb, it is in a watery environment that allows the development of all the essential systems for continued development after the fetal stage. There is a fundamental difference between being in a watery environment or a gravity environment, the muscular and motor work is different and often opposite in these two environments.

In the watery environment, the body is wrapped and enjoys a force that controls it and floats it without any real danger of falling (other dangers are hidden in the watery environment). In a gravity environment, different motor skills are required than in a watery environment. The entire force system is different and the body knows how to adapt to these changes by activating a unique genetic array for all environmental conditions, in a continuous feedback loop.

And after that is written, here is the unique perspective on motor development after leaving the watery environment and starting exposure to gravity. The fetal position is essentially a position of flexion and folding with a little straightening that is performed mainly in the arms and legs. After leaving the womb, the development of the opposite action comes, which is straightening, until finding the balance between the two actions and adapting it to the required specific motor activity.

The body of the newborn who is exposed to gravity for the first time and is in a flexed position to which he is accustomed, begins to practice straightening abilities in the trunk, both passively and actively.

The description of motor development that will come below will show the principles that drive the process and will show the importance of the peripheral sensory parts, and will lower the brain from its place as responsible.

Motor development is random. There is no orderly plan in the brain for execution. And among the principles that drive the process will be the desire to move but in optimal use of energy, meaning minimal 'waste' of it.

This leading principle will lead to continuous experimentation that will lead to this savings while moving and controlling it. This is the reason for the randomness of the movement and its guidance that occurs with continuous feedback.

The component that drives optimal motor development for every body is the center of mass (com).

At the beginning of development, the body will manage the center of mass on the surface (width and length) with a lot of support, and with the achievement of control over the surface, the rise will begin, that is, raising the center of mass above the surface, rising to height and reducing contact with the surface (reducing the base of support). In practical translation, lying on the back and stomach, including head control in these positions, the insertion of the hands into weight-bearing activity, such as getting up on the forearms and then rolling from stomach to back and back to stomach, sitting and sitting, crawling, six crawling, and from there the positions, side walking, standing without support and walking.

It is important to note that this fascinating process is activated by all the senses, with the main one among them being the sensory one, which includes in it the external contact on the skin, the understanding of the joints about their location and the sense of gravity that helps in managing the general center of mass of the body.

The entire sensory complex, which also includes vision and hearing, transmits regularly to the brain, which feeds on what comes to it. When there is damage to the sensory organs, and this can be for various reasons, the messages to the brain can be misleading. This statement dictates a different look at the brain.

The brain is located in a closed, dark box that is the skull, and feeds on the signals that come from the periphery. Therefore, motor development will include the abilities that ultimately direct functional movement.