With both parents working in many families today, it is often the inevitable that baby spends several hours each week at daycare. Much has been written about the importance of choosing a daycare carefully with a great deal of focus on the emotional development of baby. Stellar Caterpillar suggests that it is important to consider the effects of daycare on gross motor skill development as well. It is recommended that parents visit the daycare and ask detailed questions about how the babies spend their time during the day.
These are a few red flags that might indicate a daycare experience that does not support optimal motor skill development:
- USE OF BABY EQUIPMENT (JUMPERS, EXERSAUCERS, AND BUMBOS)
- BABIES BEING HELD INSTEAD OF PUT ON A BABY MAT TO MOVE
- ELECTRONIC BABY TOYS DOMINATE THE PLAY AREA
These are a few positive signs that a daycare encourages individual movement exploration and development:
- ABSENCE OF BABY EQUIPMENT (JUMPERS, EXERSAUCERS, AND BUMBOS)
- BABIES HELD SOME OF THE TIME AND ALSO PUT ON A BABY MAT TO MOVE
- DEVELOPMENTAL BABY TOYS ARE ENCOURAGED
Two of the most important things that babies need for gross motor skill development are time and space on the floor to explore. Their motor skills evolve through play, accident, and exploration. For example, while baby kicks her legs she kicks her legs off to the side and she eventually rolls over. This is now the beginning of a new motor skill called rolling. Next, she repeats this movement several times to assure herself that she created it and she can recreate it at will. Through this kind of play the motor milestones emerge.
Recently many daycare facilities have used jumpers and exersaucers to keep babies quiet and out of mischief. Yet, as we have discussed in previous articles, these pieces of equipment are not positive for the development of a baby. Please read our posts on exersaucers, jumpers, and bumbo chairs for more details on this topic and gross motor skill development.