Nursery World - Learning & Development: Movement

Anne O’Connor explores the link between movement and well-being

One of the first special moments of connection for a pregnant woman with her baby is the experience of the moving foetus within the womb. Although those kicks and nudges may get increasingly uncomfortable for the mother, they are vital to the baby’s physical development and are an important sign of its continued well-being before birth (see www.kickscount.org.uk). They also provide the expectant mother (and others) with an important way of connecting with the baby, and this early ‘communication’ can help start the bonding process (O’Connor and Daly 2016).

Once a child is born, we continue to see the baby communicate through movement – for example, turning the face towards or away from something, kicking with the legs and reaching out with the hands. But a baby’s wriggles and kicks are also crucially important for the physical development of their skeletal structure, muscles and joints, and nerve and brain network.

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