Mastery of motor skills’ is one of the significant developmental tasks during late childhood. It is important for school age children to develop motor abilities because
Motor skills allow the child to enter into the peer group participation.
Motor skills give prestige value to school going children which contributes to their heightened self image.
Motor skills contribute to total development of children such as social, emotional, physical and mental development.
Motor skills facilitate deriving self entertainment to children. Play still plays a significant role in school age. Lack of every motor activity that affords movement and enjoyment may possibly hinder other aspects of development.
Constituents of motor behavior during late childhood:
Movement in late childhood becomes more controlled, more efficient and increasingly complex. Children during this period move with considerable agility, they became quite proficient at handedness, balancing, locomotion and manipulative abilities.
Children can distinguish right and left by 7years. Handedness is well established and fine muscle ability improves steadily until age 12. By twelve years, children can develop about 90 % of their potential mobility and speed of reaction, balance, strength and coordination seem to improve with time and practice.
Motor fitness: Adequate motor fitness is required for acquisition of a skill. The basic components of motor fitness are
Coordination: It is a skill of integration of visual input with motor output. A considerable amount of coordination is required to attain skills like catching, throwing, trapping and bouncing etc.
Most of the activities persuade by children during 6-12 years requires quickness and accuracy in children’s movements. Movements must be synchronizing, rhythmical and properly sequenced. The more complicated the movement task, the greater level of coordination is necessary for efficient performance.
Balance: It is the ability to maintain equilibrium of one’s body when it is placed in various positions. It is basic for all movements. It is influenced by visual, tactile-kinesthetic and vestibular stimulation. The balance is of two types’ i.e. static balance and dynamic balance.
Static balance: It refers to the ability of the body to maintain equilibrium in a stationary position. Ex: balancing on one foot, standing on a balancing beam etc. Vision plays an important role in balance. Static balance continues to improve with age. Ex: 5 year old child cannot balance on foot with their eyes closed where as a 7 year old child can do this.
Dynamic balance: it refers to the ability to maintain equilibrium when moving from point to point.
Speed: It is the ability to cover a short distance in a brief possible time. Speed is influenced by reaction time as well as movement time. Speed which depends upon neurological maturation, variations in processing information in the brain, environmental and task considerations is a unique ingredient of motor behavior of children in late childhood.
Agility: It is the ability to change the direction of the body rapidly and accurately. It is one of the greatest contributors to motor skills. Individuals can make quick and accurate shifts in body positions during movement with agility. It is extremely important for most of the sports and dances. Girls are generally more agile than boys. It depends upon looseness of joints and the abilities of the muscles to stretch and relax.
Power: It is the ability to perform a maximum effort in as short a period as possible.
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