Introduction

Most people think of physical development as muscle development, sports, etc., and many have the impression that this has little to do with brain development.

That could not be further from the truth. The development of early mobility has a profound impact on brain development, which in turn could have a direct impact on vision, language and general health.

The leading authority in this area is Glenn Doman, founder of the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential and author of best-selling books such as How To Teach Your Baby To Be Physically Superb.

Doman places the emphasis not on competitive situations like sports, where the focus is on winning, but rather, on the development of mobility, which is more akin to competing against oneself.

There are three aspects we hope to develop in particular, and they are:

Whether these skills are developed through crawling, walking, running or another means, the key is to provide your child with unlimited opportunity to engage in such activities, and this means both maximizing the time spent on them and providing the ideal environment to engage in such activities.

Before we look at the different physical activities your child may engage in, as a general note, remember to minimize the use of restrictive devices such as playpens, and even strollers. These devices were made for the parents' convenience, and not for babies' benefit! Baby carriers (especially front-facing ones) are preferable to strollers as they allow more freedom of movement.

Let's now look at the various activities important in developing your child's motor skills:

	Infant Massage
	Crawling + Walking
	Swinging + Spinning
	Hanging + Brachiating
	Swimming
	Gymnastics

See related Forum Discussions:

Teaching Your Baby To Be Physically Superb