The normal activities that parents do with their babies actually boost the infant’s motor development. There are simple and complex motor development skills. Activities that use hands like grasping things and eating etc require simpler muscular coordination whereas sitting and walking etc are comparatively complex activities for the baby and thus require an increased number of muscles for execution.

You can help your baby develop hand eye coordination and better regulate other body activities just by spending some quality time with your child. Here below we outline some basic activities that encourage the motor development of your baby.

Activities To Encourage The Motor Development Of A Baby

Catch Your Baby’s Attention

Getting your baby to turn its head while following sounds is a great way to develop the motor skills in the initial stages of growing up. Use a rattle or clap your hands, call from across the room to make it listen to you and move its eyes and head in your direction.

Placing a toy just out of the baby’s reach and entice it to grasp it helps in the development of hand eye coordination. Moving the rattle in various directions around its face at a distance of around six inches encourages the baby to move its head while following the direction of the sound.

Precursor To Crawling

It is vital to place your baby on its stomach from time to time. Place a plethora of toys all around it; make sure that there are lots of bright colors involved to catch and keep the baby’s attention. It will crane its neck to take it all in its hands and will try to move around and in the process there will be development of the strength of back, legs and hands. This position is the incipient stage of crawling. Gradually your baby will try to roll over on its back and flail its arms and legs and will develop muscle coordination in the process.

Help Your Baby Sit Up

When the head is no longer unsteady and gets balanced perfectly on your baby’s shoulders it is an ideal time to encourage your baby to sit. You may use pillows at home or many readymade sitting assistant props are available in the market to help your baby sit up effectively.

Tuck it up with a lot of bolsters so that it can sit comfortably without falling. This will be an invaluable help in developing and strengthening the muscles of the legs, back and abdomen with increased coordination all around.

Let Your Baby Stand Up and Take Notice

Once your baby has mastered the art of holding its head up you may proceed to help it stand up by holding its arms at the armpits. Making it stand up increases the blood circulation to the leg area and stretches the muscles there which will strengthen it in the long run.

Motor Development Games

Later, when sitting becomes routine you may help the development of motor skills by giving your baby blocks and other small toys to play with.