46 Growth and Motor Skills Early Childhood

Children between the ages of 2 and 6 years tend to grow about 3 inches in height each year and gain about 4 to 5 pounds in weight each year. The 3 year old is very similar to a toddler with a large head, large stomach, short arms and legs. But by the time the child reaches age 6, the torso has lengthened and body proportions have become more like those of adults. The average 6 year old weighs approximately 46 pounds and is about 46 inches in height. This growth rate is slower than that of infancy.[1]

Early childhood is a time when children are especially attracted to motion and song. Days are filled with jumping, running, swinging and clapping and every place becomes a playground. Even the booth at a restaurant affords the opportunity to slide around in the seat or disappear underneath and imagine being a sea creature in a cave! Of course, this can be frustrating to a caregiver, but it’s the business of early childhood.

Gross Motor Skills

Children continue to improve their gross motor skills as they run and jump. They frequently ask their caregivers to “look at me” while they hop or roll down a hill. Children’s songs are often accompanied by arm and leg movements or cues to turn around or move from left to right.

Gross Motor Milestones

Here is a table showing the progression of gross motor skills that children will typically develop during early childhood:[2]

Table 7.2 – Gross Motor Milestones[3]

Typical Age

What Most Children Do by This Age

3 years

  • Climbs well
  • Runs easily
  • Pedals a tricycle (3-wheel bike)
  • Walks up and down stairs, one foot on each step

4 years

  • Hops and stands on one foot up to 2 seconds
  • Catches a bounced ball most of the time

5 years

  • Stands on one foot for 10 seconds or longer
  • Hops; may be able to skip
  • Can do a somersault
  • Can use the toilet on own
  • Swings and climbs

Activities to Support Gross Motor Skills

Here are some activities focused on play that young children enjoy and that support their gross motor skill development.

  • Tricycle
  • Slides
  • Swings
  • Sit-n-Spin
  • Mini trampoline
  • Bowling pins (can use plastic soda bottles also)
  • Tent (try throwing blankets over chairs and other furniture to make a fort)
  • Playground ladders
  • Suspension bridge on playground
  • Tunnels (try throwing a bean bag chair underneath for greater challenge)
  • Ball play (kick, throw, catch)
  • Simon Says
  • Target games with bean bags, ball, etc.
  • Dancing/moving to music
  • Pushing self on scooter or skateboard while on stomach
Children riding tricycles together.
Figure 7.6 – Children riding tricycles together. Image by Hanscom Air Force Base is in the public domain

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are also being refined as they continue to develop more dexterity, strength, and endurance. Fine motor skills are very important as they are foundational to self-help skills and later academic abilities (such as writing).

Fine Motor Milestones

Here is a table showing how fine motor skills progress during early childhood for children that are typically developing.[4]

Table 7.3 – Fine Motor Milestones[5]

Typical Age

What Most Children Do by This Age

3 years

  • Copies a circle with pencil or crayon
  • Turns book pages one at a time
  • Builds towers of more than 6 blocks
  • Screws and unscrews jar lids or turns door handle

4 years

  • Pours, cuts with supervision, and mashes own food
  • Draws a person with 2 to 4 body parts
  • Uses scissors
  • Starts to copy some capital letters

5 years

  • Can draw a person with at least 6 body parts
  • Can print some letters or numbers
  • Copies a triangle and other geometric shapes
  • Uses a fork and spoon and sometimes a table knife

Activities to Support Fine Motor Skills

Here are some fun activities that will help children continue to refine their fine motor abilities. Fine motor skills are slower to develop than gross motor skills, so it is important to have age appropriate expectations and play-based activities for children.

  • Pouring water into a container
  • Drawing and coloring
  • Using scissors
  • Finger painting
  • Fingerplays and songs (such as the Itsy, Bitsy Spider)
  • Play dough
  • Lacing and beading
  • Practicing with large tweezers, tongs, and eye droppers[6]
image
Figure 7.7 – Children coloring. Image by Spangdahlem Air Base is in the public domain

In this video, Dr. Boise reviews typical development in height and weight over the early childhood period. Briefly discusses motor skill development.

 


  1. Children’s Development by Ana R. Leon is licensed under CC BY 4.0
  2. Child Growth and Development by Jennifer Paris, Antoinette Ricardo, & Dawn Rymond licensed under CC BY 4.0
  3. Developmental Milestones by the CDC is in the public domain
  4. Children’s Development by Ana R. Leon is licensed under CC BY 4.0
  5. Developmental Milestones by the CDC is in the public domain
  6. Children’s Development by Ana R. Leon is licensed under CC BY 4.0

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Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychology Copyright © by Courtney Boise is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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