Milestones for Gross Motor Development: The Head to Toe Trick
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Example Case
A pediatric patient presents for routine well-check. The parents begin to ask about developmental milestones for motor skills. The patient is 8 months old and is sitting up without assistance, but is not yet crawling.
The parents are interested in finding out if their child is meeting the appropriate milestones, and they are seeking further education.
Pediatric Milestones
Pediatric milestones are used as a guide for motor, language, cognitive, and social development.
This lecture will focus on gross motor development from ages 0-4 years old.
Every EZmed lecture contains memory tricks to learn and remember the content.
Today you will learn a simple hack to remember gross motor development using the “head to toe” trick.
Make sure to also check out the trick for speech and language development as well!
Let’s get started!
3 Months = Head
The trick to remember gross motor development for the 1st year of life is to go from head to toe in increments of 3 months.
Starting at the head which correlates with 3 months, infants are able to hold their head more steady in an upright position with less assistance.
This is mainly due to increased neck stability.
6 Months = Trunk
Working our way down by increments of 3 months, we are now at the trunk which correlates with 6 months of age.
Infants begin to gain more strength and stability in their core.
They are able to lift their chest and upper abdomen when on their stomach.
They are also able to start sitting up.
They will first support themselves using a tripod position, and then they will soon be able to sit unsupported thereafter.
9 Months = Knees
As we continue to work our way down by increments of 3 months, we are now at the knees which correlates with 9 months of age.
The knees will help you remember crawling.
Crawling begins to occur at around 9 months of age.
12 Months = Feet
The final major milestone for gross motor development in the 1st year of life is learning to walk.
Again, we will go by increments of 3 months and continue to work our way down, stopping at the feet.
The feet will help you remember this is when walking starts to occur.
Children are able to first pull themselves up to a standing position, and then they will soon begin to take 2-3 steps on their own.
18 Months = Run
As described above, the trick for the 1st year of life is to go from head to toe by increments of 3 months.
The increments for the next year of life will double and go by 6 months, starting with 18 months.
Picking up where we left off with the feet, children begin to develop the ability to run at about 18 months of age.
How do you remember this milestone?
You can think of “18” years of age is when we often “run” away from home (move out to college or enter the real world).
This will help you remember at “18” months the child begins to “run”.
2 Years = Jump
Continuing by increments of 6 months, we are now at 2 years (24 months) of age.
This is when children start to hop or jump with both feet leaving the ground.
You can remember this by thinking of “2” feet are leaving the ground at “2” years old.
In other words, children begin to jump or hop with both feet leaving the ground at around 2 years of age.
3 Years = Tricycle
We went by increments of 6 months for the 2nd year of life.
Now we will double the increments again and go by increments of 12 months for the next 2 years.
Age 3 is a simple one, this is when the child is able to start riding a tricycle.
We know from our medical terminology lecture on prefixes that “tri-” means 3.
The “tri” in tricycle can be used to help you remember the age of 3.
4 Years = Hop On 1 Foot
The final major milestone for gross motor development discussed in this lecture occurs at approximately 4 years of age.
Although most children can stand on one foot for a few seconds at age 3, they can do this for prolonged periods of time by age 4.
Furthermore, they are able to hop on 1 foot.
You can remember this by thinking of the tree yoga pose (shown below), as the configuration from the legs resembles a number “4” for 4 years old.
This will help you remember at 4 years old, children can balance/hop on one foot.
Summary
Hopefully this provided you with a simple way to remember the main gross motor milestones.
Just remember to travel from head to toe the 1st year of life in increments of 3 months.
3 Months = Head - Holds head in upright position
6 Months = Trunk - Sits unsupported
9 Months = Knees - Crawling
12 Months = Feet - Walking
Then the 2nd year of life, remember to double it and go by increments of 6 months.
18 Months = Run - “Run” away from home at 18 years old
24 Months = Jump - Both (2) feet leave ground
Lastly, remember to double the increments again and go by 12 months for the next 2 years of life.
3 Years = Tricycle - “Tri” = 3
4 Years = Hop on 1 Foot - Tree yoga pose shaped like 4
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