Gross motor skills and brain development

The warm weather has arrived and so has outdoor play. Learn how movement builds a child's brain power and how you can benefit too.

Most people know that physical activity helps children and adults to maintain a healthy body. However, did you know that movement activities build brain structure? Research shows a link between cognitive development and movement, meaning children need opportunities to move so they can learn. Rolling, crawling, skipping, and jumping, along with a variety of other movement activities, build the brain during the first years of a child's life. So, if movement is one of the most important learning components of a young child's life, should parents desire a quiet, sedentary little one?

At birth, a baby's brain contains 100 billion brain cells, roughly as many nerve cells as there are stars in the Milky Way, and almost all the brain will ever have. In the brain, nerve cells called neurons are present at birth and eventually form trillions of connections over the first years of life depending on the child's life experiences. These neural connections start to send messages to each other to meet the requirements of the body and brain. Compare this to posting messages to friends on Facebook or Instagram. If you send a message to 500 friends, and each of those friends, in turn, send or forward that message to another 500 friends, and so on, the messages or signals expand exponentially.

This messaging is important for the brain-body connection. The ability of the brain to develop and maintain neural connections is based on new movement and play experiences of young children (Choosy Kids, IMIL 2016). Brain cell connections are lost or pruned away as a result of limited activity or stimulation. "Move it or lose it" is true for both children and adults.

Researchers say that there are "windows of opportunity," or sensitive periods, in children's lives when specific types of learning take place. For instance, scientists have determined that the neurons for vision begin sending messages back and forth rapidly at two to four months of age, peaking in intensity at eight months. Babies begin to take much more notice of the world during this period. If a child misses this opportunity, that does not mean that the child will be impaired, but her brain may not develop circuitry to its full potential, or optimal development, in that area. The nervous system does not even mature until somewhere between the ages of 15 to 20, so families can continue to provide a variety of active play opportunities through those years to promote further brain growth.

Brain development does not stop after early childhood, but the window narrows, making it harder for adults to learn skills they missed during childhood. "It is a child's activity level and active playtime that determines his or her ultimate brain development and the extent of adult capabilities" (Dotson-Renta 2016).

Children need to move to activate the brain. And the brain responds in full force allowing them to move in a variety of ways including crossing the mid-lines. Songs like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and "Hokey Pokey" are examples of crossing the midlines of the body. Why are these action songs and the mid-line important for brain development? The motions to the songs encourage children to cross all three body mid-lines, reaching the top to bottom, left to right, and front to back. These physical movements demand coordination from both the left and right sides of the brain. This strengthens the tissues called the corpus callosum that divides the two sides of the brain that is important for communication from one side of the brain to the other. These movements help to develop and strengthen neural pathways laying the foundation for further development in language, literacy, and math skills.

Crossing mid-lines can help stimulate brain activity in adults too. Try this activity. Extend one arm straight in front of you. It doesn't matter which one. Point your index finger, and draw a large, imaginary figure 8 lying on its side, crossing left to right in front of your body. Run your finger along this imaginary figure several times. Now switch to the opposite arm. It may be harder since it is probably your non-dominate arm. Trace the same large figure 8 several times. This activity stimulates both sides of your brain and refreshes your thinking process. It might help you get through those long afternoon workdays.

There is one easy way that you can boost your child's brainpower through movement activities. Turn on your children's favorite music and have a dance party. Don't worry about moving like someone on television's "Dancing with the Stars." Children are natural movers so follow their lead. It may be an opportunity for you to learn a new dance move or two. Take turns playing your favorite songs, too. Children get a kick out of dancing to Abba or Journey, and it gives you a break from children's songs the entire time. You'll have so much fun that no one will realize that you're building your child's brain!

Resources and References

Choosy Kids, I Am Moving, I Am Learning. 2016. "Moving with the Brain in Mind." Choosy Kids.

Dotson-Renta, Lara N. 2016. "Why Young Kids Learn Through Movement." The Atlantic.

Gabbard, Carl, and Luis Rodrigues. 2008. "Optimizing Early Brain and Motor Development Through Movement." Early Childhood News.

Jensen, Eric. 2000. "Moving with the Brain in Mind." Educational Leadership November. 

Little Folksters™. n.d. "Moving and Learning: The Body Brain Connection Babies to 5s."

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