Please or to access all these features

Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

ds behind in gross motor skills - should I take him to extra classes?

5 replies

tryingtoleave · 09/07/2010 03:09

DS has just turned 4, and I just got his report from preschool, which confirmed what I already knew - that he is behind his peers in his motor skills. I had been thinking about taking him to a gymnastics class, but now I'm wondering whether it would be helpful in giving him extra practice or damaging by showing him and cementing the idea that he is behind, when he might just catch up in his own time? Or maybe he might never be sporty, which wouldn't be so terrible. Any thoughts?

OP posts:
nooka · 09/07/2010 03:53

We were recommended gym and also judo to help with our ds's motor skills. We never got around to the judo, but he enjoyed gym. Find a class that isn't too pressured and I'm sure he will be fine. The physios thought that the gym probably did help ds (although they said that his motor skills problems were quite closely related to his growth spurts - each time he grew his balance went out of skew, something to do with his hips I think, so his physical abilities came and went a bit when he was growing fast). A class for toddlers is bound to have other children who aren't that good at balancing etc, but should be more focused on learning new skills and having fun.

mintyfresh · 09/07/2010 19:51

It may depend on the reasons for his delay. Gym may be tough on joints - swimming is good for building up strength and horseriding is brilliant for core strength and co-ordination. If he has particular issues may be worth getting him assessed by a physio.

rabbitstew · 09/07/2010 22:21

My ds1 has hypermobility and hypotonia and so was delayed with his gross motor skills. Gym class at the local sports centre was fantastic for him and a great help for when he started school, because it meant he wasn't obviously behind in PE lessons. It wasn't the sort of gymnastics that puts much in the way of strain on the joints in the early years: just lots of bunny hopping, forward rolls, balancing, running, skipping, hopping, slithering like snakes, donkey kicks, copying the teachers' movements, playing on gym equipment, etc. It didn't start to get more serious until he had to move into the school-age, 5-7 year olds' class. After a couple of terms of that, they were beginning to do things that alarmed me a little bit, because of his hypermobility (eg swinging from bars, which is one thing we were advised not to let him do, in case he dislocated his shoulders). He also started to notice he found things difficult that other children didn't (eg skipping with a rope!...).

The feeling he was behind his peers wasn't an issue in the 3-5 year olds' gym class, because of the way it was structured, and because there was quite a good age range of children, so different abilities were expected, plus little children just don't compare themselves to each other in the way older children do. He certainly loved it, and wasn't phased by the fact that when he started, he couldn't hop, skip, run very fast, do forward rolls, etc. So I would very much recommend it.

kalo12 · 09/07/2010 22:26

a free dance class might be less pressured. and swimming is a good suggestion. toddler yoga too

tryingtoleave · 10/07/2010 02:56

Gosh, thanks everyone. I'm not sure why he is behind or even how much - I didn't think it was enough to have him assessed but maybe it is. The difference that I notice is that he will bounce gently on a trampoline while his friends throw themselves around and he will use a tricycle or scooter slowly and carefully while the others zoom around. Also, his 18 month old sister can do better forward rolls than him. As far as I can tell he doesn't have any idea that the other children are more agile.

He likes swimming, but it is freezing here at the moment and he found the swimming class frustrating last summer as he spent so much time waiting at the side. Judo is a great idea - I'm sure I saw an ad for kiddy judo - I'll have to look into it. I was worried that dance classes would be full of determined little girls at this age. Is that not the case, kalo?

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page