Development begins in the womb. During this period the fetus develops organs and grows many times its size. Once the baby is born it is even more important that the environment supports the child's normal physical and mental growth. At birth, the baby's senses function through the eyes, ears, nose and tongue. Through these senses they explore their world and experience sensations. Perception occurs when the brain processes these sensations. Infant movements are involuntary (reflexes). Reflexes help the baby survive until he gains control of his body and can move on his own. Newborns experience most of their growth during their first year. During this period, gross and fine motor skills develop. Understanding the meaning of these terms is very important and is the key to your child's success. Gross motor skills are large muscle movements in the body; such as the muscles of the legs and arms. These movements are easier for a child to control and usually develop faster than fine motor skills. Gross motor movements would be movements such as running, walking, jumping, climbing, crawling, rolling, and dancing. Fine motor skills are movements of small muscles in the body such as the hands. These skills are more difficult for the child to develop due to the lack of control over these muscles. Some fine motor skill movements are writing, pointing, grasping, holding, and reaching. Fine motor skills are small movements and develop gradually as the child grows. As babies grow in size, their motor skills improve through body movements. Through fine and gross motor skills, children learn to master movements, such as sitting, crawling, standing and walking. These sensory and motor skills follow a genetic timetable, which is influenced...... middle of paper ......ng, will help your children develop their gross and fine motor skills as they should.Works CitedLoop, E , (2010). Fine motor and gross motor activities for infants and toddlers. Retrieved from http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/fine-motor-gross-motor-activities-infants-toddlers-8825.htmlOswalt, A., (2008). Early childhood physical development: gross and fine motor development. Retrieved from http://www.bhcmhmr.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=12755&cn=462Santrock, J. (2012). A topical approach to development across the lifespan, 6th, 154-159. Retrieved from http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0078035139/937734/san35139_ch05.pdfWho multicenter growth reference study group and de Onis, M. (2006), Relationship between Physical Growth and Motor Development in WHO child growth standards. Acta Pediatrica, 95: 96–101. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2006.tb02380.x