6Year Old Gross Motor Skills

It's called BALANCE. You/everyone needs BOTH! Instead of spending so much time reading, etc., take a break and ride a scooter, work on the bike WITHOUT training wheels, go to the park and WORK on monkey bars, etc.

Like everything else, it takes PRACTICE. Yes, some kids grasp it easier than others, but as a former P.E teacher and STILL work with kids and adults...........stimulus.......stimulus........stimulus!

I've watched a very timid, weak, uncoordinated child become a master at hula hooping, running, the scooter, climbing, monkey bars, etc. She has become an AMAZINGINGLY coordinated, strong able bodied child at 7 and is FAR beyond most of her piers. That's because I provided the stimulus to get her up to speed and BEYOND. She's more confident, LOVES trying new things and LOVES being stronger and more active.

BTW.......she's second grade and reads at a beginning 4th grade level. We've worked on BOTH, but I've repeatedly stressed the importance of both. She also realizes she doesn't get tired as easily as she used to and is soo much stronger. She gets very little stimuli at home but when we're together we try balancing on balls, tripods, headstands, work on upper body strength at the park, etc. It's made all the difference in the world!

You have done a great job building a strong brain and teaching him how to learn, but these other skills also need to be learned and practiced. This is the other part of his brain and also need to be practiced just as much to grasp the concepts and coordination to totally develop the rest of his brain.

At 6 he needs to be outside at least an hour to 2 hours a day doing active play. He needs to be running, jumping, skipping, climbing pulling, balancing.

At school how much recess does he get? How much PE ? Each afternoon when he comes home, he should be allowed some sunshine time, riding his bike, roller skating, hitting a ball, dribbling. skate board. Does he swim? This summer get him into swim lessons and then make swimming an every other day activity. Can he jump rope? This is a total coordination activity and is proven to open up parts of the brain that will help with math and science concepts. Same with balancing while riding a bike. This is also considered a strong milestone in development.

Plan hikes, take him to a climbing wall. Tennis, just hittiing the ball is good.

Our daughter did well with books on sports so that she would understand the rules. She loves rules. Maybe get him a book on the rules of basketball. It will open up the concept of how it is supposed be played.

I would guess it has to do with how much experience he has. My son is 6 months older than his cousin, and is in T-Ball, goes to the park often, rides on motorized cars and is super fast on his bike. His cousin, doesn't even own a bat, doesn't go to parks and his car battery is never charged and he is only allowed to ride his bike on the driveway, so comparing the two, my son is so much more advanced than his older cousin.

I wouldn't worry too much, if you think you are over protective, you probably are. Allow him to be a kid, take him to the park, help him with the monkey bars, sign him up for sports and just spend some time outside with him. He may not be the most athletic kid on the block, but that's okay. If he doesn't excel in one area, he may in another. If he ends up not being very good at sports, find other things he may like.

I was very overprotective over my kids and wouldn't let my daughter climb the rope ladder last year (worried she'd fall) and then her daycare provider told me she does it all the time and has never fallen. It was an eye opener for me and since then, I backed off. Kids will be kids, they will fall and they will get back up.

It's good to compare your child to others, but don't focus too much on it.

Good luck!

~C.

Hi L.-

You could consult on occupational therapist for an evaluation. It could just be that your son hasn't had enough exposure to these sports and needs practice but OT's can check for any underlying issues and can work with your son to develop the necessary skills.

How is your son doing socially? Does he make friends easily and interact appropriately with children his age? I ask because I have a son with Asperger's and my "antenna" always goes up when I hear any symptoms that seem similar to my son. Children with Aspergers are typically very intelligent (read at an early age, pick up math quickly, etc.) but are socially awkward and typically lack coordination and have trouble with things like riding a bike and monkey bars, etc.

Good luck,
K.

I have to echo Karen on this one! I have a 6-year old daughter with Asperger's. She's in kindergarten, but has been reading for 2 years now! She LOVES reading science articles in magazines and just about any chapter book! But she's an absolute klutz, which is a very typical profile for an Aspie. However, I imagine it's also a typical profile for a gifted kid as well! Bottom line is that something can be going on or everything is fine! I think it's perfectly natural that someone who is so advanced in one area would be deficient in another! Definitely pursue OT and see what they have to say. If they feel there are some issues, get him assessed. Also, in my daughter's case, we enrolled her in a gymnastics class and a dance class, and they're really helping too!

C.
www.littlebitquirky.blogspot.com

I have a 7 year old. Great rules follower, rides a bike, does well in school but has some fine motor skill deficits. His 3 year old half brother can figure small puzzles out, open things up, use a computer, play video games far better than my son. My son takes over half the season, sometimes a whole season to learn a new sport--and thats sitting at home and practicing at least every other night with him.
I'm not sure how much your son has played basketball but maybe the cousin has been exposed to it more. Exposure is the key.
As for the training wheels, I forced my son to ride without them at age 5. It took us over a month to learn how practice for couple hours every day. Now he doesn't even look like he had trouble learning.
We do go to Occupational therapy every other week--his writing and cutting skills were horrible...beyond horrible. When they test him, he test to the level of a 4 year old in coordination. I don't say he's "not sporty" because he is--sporty doesn't have to mean your great at it, it means you enjoy sports and enjoy playing them. I just remind him sometimes it takes him longer to learn how to do things.
I have exposed my son to a lot more--and then allowed him to choose what he is interested in. We found a sport (hockey) that he actually likes A LOT and then caught on much faster to it verses basketball and soccer.
You can always ask the ped. for a referral to get an eval done by a physical therapist or occupational therapist or both. From their reports you can choose to do some interventions or just know what you need to work on from home. We have been goin to OT for over a year now and his skills have improved dramatically.

Sometimes our motor skills do not develop as quickly as our brain. There are a lot of bright kids that motor deficits. Talk to your doctor. He just may develop physically slower than other kids. First grade is a great time to start soccer. It teaches a lot of great skills, Also swimming lessons. He may be on the autism spectrum; asperger's syndrome. These kids are intelligent but have delays in social skills and other skills. Not all kids are "athletic". There is also dyspraxia which these kids do not have great motor coordination. This is why intelligence is only one aspect of a child's education.

sounds still within the range of normal-- we know six year olds with the same skills (or lack of...)

think about how much kids have to learn. they focus on their interests... don't worry too much.

for training wheels-- take off the pedals and the training wheels, and let him get the hang of balancing w/out training wheels with his feet on the ground. works great!

My son is 6 1/2 and can hold onto the 1st monkey bar only, can't move foward on them (though he knows the concept, he just can't do it). He also can't swing his body up to play on the hanging bar. He just took his trainers off last fall from his bike. This is despite him being very active, plays in basketball leagues, soccer, and t-ball (since he was 4 for soccer!) Took him two basketball season to physically grasp dribbling, and our rec program doesn't even really stress rules of the game yet other than hands up when on defense and dribble & shoot/pass when you have the ball. They're too young to "get" much more than that! He was also in Little Gym for 2 yrs from age 1-3. My 7yr old niece still has on her training wheels. He's very physical/active, but just not that coordinated in his core muscles yet! Heck, he may never be, some kids just aren't. :)

This seems to me to be all with in the normal range. My 3yr old is doing these things all more quickly (as do most 2nd kids), and some 1st kids are just more coordinated. Practicing more like the other posters mentioned never hurts, nor does mentioning to your pediatrician his benchmarks, but I would really just stop feeling you need to compare him to his cousin. Your little nephew may turn out to be the next LeBron, just born with natural athletic abilities! Who wants to be compared to that! :)

"It takes all kinds to make the world go round." My mother told me this when I was in the middle of a panic attack about going to college. Basically not everyone is meant to be a college grad, the world needs good mothers too and that's what I am.
It seems to me like your little boy just isn't that sporty. I really don't think there's anything wrong, as long as he's happy and healthy all is well. Although, it might be time to take his trainers off, but that's something you just have to try and see how he does. Try not to compare him to his cousin, they are two different type of boys.
Personal example, my daughter is a pistol, always on the go, active and feisty, her aunt who's a year older is a little china doll of a girl. Dainty and delicate not much for the rough and tumble my girl adores. Each one is healthy and happy and unique. The world needs girly-girls and tomboys alike.
Also a word of advice, try to help him develop a strong sense of self worth. Encourage him and praise him for what his is, smart, supper smart if he's only 6 and reading at a 4th grade level. Unfortunately, by middle school boys who are smart and who aren't naturally athletic tend to be picked on. My brother and husband both suffered around junior high and high school for being "bookish" and "techie" and not really athletic.
There's nothing wrong with your son, he's just his own person.

Good luck to you.

L.,

Ordinarily, when someone askes a question about delayed development, my antena goes up and I give the same advice, to go to a professional and find out four sure, because if you think that there is a problem, there usually is. I don't really get that impression from your post though, because you only mention the one area of concern, and while kids with asperger syndrome, as some have suggested, do have gross motor difficulty and can have high IQ's, most parents will be concerned about fine motor, behavior, and social skills before they put two and two together about the generally less obvious gross motor or coordination issues. The only thing in your post that makes me wonder that you note his inablity to understand the rules of an organized sport, if you think that this is a language issue, then you might have cause for concern.

I would say, seek a professional opinion if you have ever wondered about the following: His language usage being little professor like, or just something a little off, or the tendancy to monologe about one topic which he knows many details about. If he has an odd quality to his voice, either too much or too little expression, too loud or too soft, monotone, or irregular usage. Trouble relating to his peers- if he is markedly better at getting along with younger kids or has a distinct preference for adult company and does not seem to know how to make or keep friends his own age (even if this seems to be just a prefrerence.) If he has trouble holding a pencil correctly, or has trouble with buttons and hygene tasks independently. If he has trouble with any sensory experience or becomes agrivated or overwhelmed by noise, touch, light, or taste. If he has difficulty with attention span or impulsive behavior. If he seems to have too much or too little fear of strangers and either fears or has anxiety about novel situations, or thinks he knows more about novel sitiuations that he really does. There are more things that could cause you concern, but most of them will have something to do with these kinds of issues and could present in as many different ways as there are kids.

Lastly, you are seeing one thing that is universally typical (normal is not really the word you are looking for) and that is that kids can and do excel in one area and not others so if you really "can't" understand that, you should find a way to understand it as soon as you can. Acceleration in only one area does not mean anything is wrong with the others, and you should certainly not become concerned about his skills as compared to one child who is only one year younger any more that someone should judge thier child's reading ability as compared to your son's (the "typical" range is huge, so what you see as "significant" may not be so in a clinical sense.) Another caution to you is that he may be doing very well right now, but his acceleration does not always mean that he will continue on that path and you should not assume "giftedness" until the end of third grade as many kids who learn at an accelerated rate that will even out by the end of third grade. Even if he is advanced in reading, he may not be later in his life, and you should evaluate if you are putting too much empasis on him being "advanced," and let him be a typical kid instead as he could be holding back in areas that he perceives you will find disapointing by comparison.

So, unless you left a whole lot out, or you have never thought of some of the areas I listed as problematic before, then I would just relax and give him a chance to work on his gross motor development.

M.