Define gross-motor and fine-motor development and give examples ...

[Alygatorr01285]

Define gross-motor and fine-motor development and give examples of each. How do researchers today view the sequence of motor development?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Are chubby babies at risk for later overweight and obesity? How can concerned parents prevent their infants from becoming overweight children and adults?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[joanwhite]

Answer to Question 1

Answer: Gross-motor development refers to control over actions that help infants get around in the environment, such as crawling, standing, and walking. Fine-motor development has to do with smaller movements, such as reaching and grasping. Historically, researchers assumed that motor skills were separate, innate abilities that emerged in a fixed sequence governed by a built-in maturational timetable. This view has long been discredited. Rather, motor skills are interrelated. Each is a product of earlier motor attainments and a contributor to new ones. And children acquire motor skills in highly individual ways. Babies display such skills as rolling, sitting, crawling, and walking in diverse orders rather than in the sequence implied by motor norms. Further, there are large individual differences in rate of motor progress. A baby who is a late reacher will not necessarily be a late crawler or walker. We would be concerned about a childs development only if many motor skills were seriously delayed.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: Most chubby babies thin out during toddlerhood and early childhood, as weight gain slows and they become more active. Infants and toddlers can eat nutritious foods freely without risk of becoming overweight. But recent evidence does indicate a strengthening relationship between rapid weight gain in infancy and later obesity. The trend may be due to the rise in overweight and obesity among adults, who promote unhealthy eating habits in their young children.
One way concerned parents can prevent their infants from becoming overweight children and adults is to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, which is associated with slower weight gain over the first year, leaner body build through early childhood, and 10 to 20 percent reduced obesity risk in later life. Another strategy is to avoid giving babies foods loaded with sugar, salt, and saturated fats. Once toddlers learn to walk, climb, and run, parents can also provide plenty of opportunities for energetic play. Finally, because research shows a correlation between excessive television viewing and overweight in older children, parents should limit the time very young children spend in front of the TV.