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Physical & Motor Development
Gross Motor Development
WiseTip: PM-GMO-M0818-G01D

Sing songs or read books with action movements that involve the whole body, e.g. “This is the way I move my feet”.

8-18 months
Caregiving
WHY IT MATTERS

A study carried out on 8-10 month old infants in China found that infants who were brought outdoors by their caregivers more in summer were exposed to more stimulation and more opportunities to crawl on the (warm) floor.

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  1. Bai, Y., Shang, G., Wang, L., Sun, Y., Osborn, A., & Rozelle, S. (2018). The relationship between birth season and early childhood development: Evidence from northwest rural China. PloS one, 13(10)

A cross-sectional study on the association between gross motor function and nutritional status in 177 children with cerebral palsy in Colombia found independent, direct and significant relationships between the levels of gross motor functioning and the prevalence of malnutrition and stunting.

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  1. Herrera‐Anaya, E., Angarita‐Fonseca, A., Herrera‐Galindo, V. M., Martínez‐Marín, R. D. P. & Rodríguez‐Bayona, C. N. (2016), Association between gross motor function and nutritional status in children with cerebral palsy: a cross‐sectional study from Colombia. Dev Med Child Neurol, 58, 936-941. doi:10.1111/dmcn.13108

In a study of 70 parents/caregivers and babies between age 7-24 months, results showed that infants who attended the experimental music group engaged in more social behaviour during toy play with adults.

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  1. Walworth, D. D. (2009). Effects of Developmental Music Groups for Parents and Premature or Typical Infants Under Two Years on Parental Responsiveness and Infant Social Development, Journal of Music Therapy, 46(1), 32–52. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/46.1.32
This result supports previous findings that music-based instruction groups maintain high attention levels compared to play-based instruction groups.
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  1. Robb, S. L. (2003). Music interventions and group participation skills of preschoolers with visual impairments: Raising questions about music, arousal, and attention. Journal of Music Therapy, 40, 266-282.