Nursery World - Learning & Development: Physical Development: Part 2

The experience of moving the body from a prone position is surprisingly important for a child's development, say Anne O'Connor and Anna Daly.

Babies acquire a huge number of movement patterns and new movement abilities during the first nine to 12 months of their lives. At the same time, something very interesting is going on in the brain. It is as though the baby is fast-forwarding through the brain development of all our evolutionary ancestors.

It begins in the watery environment of the womb, where the movements the baby makes are 'piscean' or fish-like. The next stage is the 'reptilian', when babies begin to make attempts to move on their tummies like a reptile - think of the way a lizard or crocodile creeps along on four legs with its belly close to the ground.

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