What is meant by Proximodistal development?

Proximodistal development can be explained quite simply:

It is the trend of things beginning from the inside, the core, and then spreading outward. The word 'Proximodistal' comes from the latin, proxi - meaning close, and dis - meaning away from, therefore the word itself is exemplary of the trend, which is centrifugal (moving outwards). 

The term is usually referred to in biology, which describes the process of more general functions of limbs developing before specific functions, such as fine motor skills. It basically describes the progress from the centre of the body (spine) to eventually mastering the more distant/peripheral parts of the body. 

A fine example of this is to observe the way a baby first learns to control their shoulders before their fingers.

In the process of this development, motor skills at large take precedence over finer, more specific motor skills. A child will first experience control of their upper trunks, followed by arm control and subsequently finger control.

According to this principle, each change in the child’s development should result in an increasingly refined level of skill development.

The proximodistal law of development, however, is not confined just to biology. It is a universal principle. It's ideology, that everything starts in the center and works it's way outward, is the groundwork of many similar such theories. 

Some examples include the Big Bang theory and the Chinese concept of Chi (energy force), which is a spiritual belief that begins with the self, eventually working it's way outwards.

I hope this answers your question.

Proximodistal development describes the general trend for the development of motor abilities to occur from the center outwards. First, the middle develops and then the movement spreads outward. Infants learn to move their torsos first, then their arms and legs. Finger manipulation and other finely tuned movements will develop once motor skills for their limbs are developed. Motor development proceeds from the center of an organism to the periphery via proximodistal development.

Early motor skills are learned by parts of the body that are closest to the trunk before parts farther away in proximodistal development. In other words, gross motor skills like waving an arm develop before fine motor skills like writing legibly.

Principle of Proximodistal Development

According to the proximodistal principle, development occurs from the center of the body outward. According to this principle, the trunk of the body grows before the extremities of the arms and legs.

The proximodistal principle also governs the development of how different parts of the body are used. The ability to use the hands comes before the ability to use the arms effectively.

Proximodistal Development Example

Children learning to control their shoulders before they have a good level of control over their arms or individual fingers is a classic example of proximodistal development.

Infants as young as three months can grasp objects handed to them and make fists, but they aren’t able to point at objects or even reach for them on their own.

Typically, reaching is developed by six months, and pointing and picking up small objects like raisins by a year old.

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