When we talk about the development of young children, in addition to their intellectual and psychological development, the development of motor intelligence is also an extremely important part. So, what is motor intelligence? How do young children develop their movements?
What is motion intelligence
Harvard psychologist Howard first proposed the concept of bodily motor intelligence, which he believes is one of the multiple intelligences of humans. It mainly refers to an individual's ability to use their entire body to express thoughts and emotions, and skillfully use their hands to make or manipulate objects. It includes special physical skills such as balance, coordination, agility, strength, speed, flexibility, movement characteristics, and the ability to respond to external stimuli.
For infants and young children aged 0-3, it means that they can use their bodies to suck, grasp, sit, climb, walk, run, jump, as well as express their own needs, thoughts, emotions, solve certain problems, create certain objects, and flexibly manipulate objects.
The Development Mechanism of Preschool Movement
Thelen proposed the theory of dynamic systems in 1995 regarding how young children develop motor intelligence. He believes that infants and young children acquire motor skills for the needs of perception and activity. In order for infants and young children to develop motor skills, they must perceive the factors in their surrounding environment that encourage them to move, and also use their perception to finely regulate their behavior.
From this theory, when infants and young children want to do something, they may create a new action, which is driven by multiple factors: the development of the nervous system; The physiological characteristics of the body and the potential for movement; The goals that children want to achieve; The environment that supports this skill. For example, scientific research suggests that toddlers learn to walk only when their nervous system is mature enough to control leg muscles, their thighs are strong enough to support their own weight, and they want to move. Infants and young children need to work hard to coordinate multiple skill elements in order to master motor skills. They will explore ways to solve problems and selectively use some methods to complete new tasks; Establish adaptive patterns by continuously modifying existing action patterns. The development of movement is the process in which infants and young children actively use skills to achieve a certain goal under the limitations of their physical abilities and environmental conditions.
