Moving with Purpose: Supporting Motor Skills Through Play
Your child is on the floor, reaching for a toy just out of reach. They roll. They stretch. They grab it. Then they bang it against the ground, delighted by the sound it makes.
To you, it might look like play. And it is. But it's also so much more.
Movement is how children explore their world, build connections, and develop independence. Every roll, reach, climb, scribble, and jump is a building block—strengthening muscles, refining coordination, and creating neural pathways that support everything from eating to writing to playing with friends.
For children with disability or developmental differences, movement doesn't always come easily. But with the right support—and a lot of playful practice—children can build the motor skills they need to participate more fully in everyday life.
Why Motor Skills Matter
Motor skills are the foundation of independence. They allow children to:
Feed themselves
Dress themselves
Play with toys and peers
Explore their environment safely
Communicate (through gestures, pointing, or using devices)
Participate in school activities
When motor skills are delayed or difficult, it affects more than just movement. It affects a child's confidence, social participation, and ability to engage with the world around them.
That's where physiotherapy comes in.
Understanding Fine and Gross Motor Skills
Motor skills are typically divided into two categories: fine motor and gross motor. Both are essential, and they work together to support functional movement.
Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills involve small, precise movements using the hands and fingers.
Examples include:
Picking up small objects (like cereal or coins)
Holding a crayon or pencil
Buttoning shirts or zipping jackets
Using cutlery
Threading beads or doing puzzles
Fine motor skills require hand-eye coordination, finger strength, and dexterity. They're critical for self-care tasks and school readiness.
Gross Motor Skills
Gross motor skills involve whole-body movements using larger muscle groups.
Examples include:
Rolling, sitting, crawling, walking
Running, jumping, climbing
Kicking or throwing a ball
Balancing on one foot
Riding a bike or scooter
Gross motor skills require core strength, balance, coordination, and spatial awareness. They're the foundation for physical play, sport, and exploring the environment.
How They Work Together
Here's the important part: fine and gross motor skills don't develop in isolation. They're interconnected.
A child who builds core strength and balance (gross motor) can sit more stably at a table, which allows them to use their hands more effectively for drawing or eating (fine motor).
A child who develops shoulder stability (gross motor) has better control of their arm movements, which improves their ability to write or manipulate small objects (fine motor).
Movement is a whole-body process. And physiotherapists understand how all the pieces fit together.
How Physiotherapists Help
Physiotherapists (or physios) are movement specialists. For children, paediatric physiotherapists focus on helping kids build strength, coordination, and functional movement skills in ways that feel natural and playful.
Physios support children and families through:
1. Development
Tracking milestones and setting realistic, meaningful goals based on your child's unique profile and your family's priorities.
2. Assessment
Observing how your child moves and identifying strengths, challenges, and areas for growth. We'll dive deeper into assessment approaches shortly.
3. Advocacy
Representing families in care or education settings. Physios can help explain your child's needs to teachers, support workers, or other professionals, and advocate for equipment, modifications, or support.
4. Support
Guiding parents on everyday strategies to support movement at home. The best physio happens outside the clinic—embedded in daily routines and play.
Physios often collaborate with occupational therapists, speech pathologists, and other professionals to create safe, accessible, and engaging environments for children.
At the RippleAbility Carer Respite Pilot, Camille Hawkes from Next Challenge walked families through practical, play-based strategies for supporting motor development at home. What follows builds on those insights.
How Physiotherapists Assess Motor Skills
Assessment is a critical part of physiotherapy. But not all assessments look the same. Physios use different approaches depending on what they're trying to understand.
1. Observational Assessment
This is exactly what it sounds like: watching your child move and play in natural settings.
Observational assessment helps physios see:
How your child solves movement challenges (Do they roll to get a toy? Crawl? Shuffle?)
What strategies they use (Do they compensate for weakness in one area by using strength in another?)
How they engage with their environment (Do they explore confidently or hesitate?)
This type of assessment doesn't involve formal testing or scoring. It's about understanding your child's movement patterns in real life.
2. Standardised Assessment
Standardised assessments compare your child's skills to developmental norms or milestones.
These assessments use specific tasks and scoring systems to measure things like:
Balance and coordination
Muscle tone and strength
Range of motion
Motor planning and sequencing
Examples of standardised tools include the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales (PDMS) or the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC).
Standardised assessments are useful for tracking progress over time, accessing funding (like NDIS), or identifying specific areas of delay. But they don't tell the whole story.
3. Functional Assessment
Functional assessment looks at how movement affects your child's ability to participate in everyday activities.
Questions a physio might ask:
Can your child get dressed independently?
Can they climb onto furniture or into the car?
Can they keep up with peers on the playground?
Do they fatigue easily during physical activity?
Functional assessment is about real-world participation, not just movement skills in isolation. It's often the most meaningful type of assessment for families because it focuses on what matters in daily life.
Why Different Assessments Matter
Each type of assessment serves a different purpose. Observational assessment helps physios understand your child's natural movement patterns. Standardised assessment provides objective data for funding or tracking progress. Functional assessment ensures therapy goals are relevant to your family's life.
The best physiotherapists use all three approaches to build a complete picture of your child's movement abilities.
Milestones: Guides, Not Deadlines
Let's talk about developmental milestones. You've probably seen charts listing when children "should" roll, sit, walk, or jump. And if your child isn't hitting those markers, it can be deeply unsettling.
Here's what you need to know: Milestones are guides, not deadlines.
They help us notice patterns and identify when a child might benefit from support. But they don't measure worth. They don't define your child. And they certainly don't predict the future.
Every child develops at their own unique pace. Some children walk at 10 months. Others walk at 18 months. Both are normal.
Some children with disability or developmental differences will meet milestones later than their peers—or they'll meet them in different ways. That doesn't mean they're failing. It means they're on their own timeline.
However, if you are feeling concerned and would like some peace of mind, it might be worth chatting with a physio to see if support could help.
Play-Based Physiotherapy: The Best Kind of Therapy
Here's the secret about paediatric physiotherapy: the best therapy doesn't look like therapy at all. It looks like play.
Children learn through movement. They explore, experiment, and build skills naturally when they're engaged, curious, and having fun. Formal exercises—like repetitive drills or stretches—rarely work well with young children. They're boring, frustrating, and disconnected from real life.
Play-based physiotherapy, on the other hand, embeds movement goals into activities children already love. It's about creating opportunities for purposeful movement in ways that feel joyful, not forced.
What Play-Based Physio Looks Like
Instead of asking a child to do ten squats, a physio might:
Play "Jack in the Box" (squatting and jumping up)
Set up an obstacle course with climbing, crawling, and jumping
Kick a ball back and forth
Dance to music with exaggerated movements
Instead of asking a child to practice pincer grip, a physio might:
String beads onto pipe cleaners
Use tweezers to pick up pom poms
Peel stickers off a sheet
Tear paper for a collage
The movement goals are the same. But the experience is completely different. And when children are engaged and enjoying themselves, they practice more—which means they progress faster.
Tools and Activities for Home
You don't need fancy equipment or a home gym to support your child's motor development. The best activities are simple, playful, and embedded in everyday life.
Playful Movement
Yoga songs: Cosmic Kids Yoga (on YouTube and Instagram) is a brilliant resource. The stories are engaging, the movements are accessible, and kids love it.
Animal walks: Bear crawls, crab walks, frog jumps, penguin waddles. These build strength, coordination, and core stability—and they're hilarious.
Dancing: Put on music and move. Let your child lead. Dance fast, slow, silly, or gentle. Movement doesn't have to be structured to be beneficial.
Everyday Strength
Carrying groceries: Let your child carry the shopping bags (the light ones). It builds arm strength and coordination.
Pushing toy trolleys or prams: Great for balance, core strength, and coordination.
Climbing stairs: Up and down, slowly and safely. Stair climbing is one of the best whole-body strengthening activities.
Helping with chores: Sweeping, wiping tables, carrying laundry. Everyday tasks are movement opportunities.
Fine Motor Fun
Stringing beads: Builds hand-eye coordination and pincer grip.
Scribbling and drawing: Let them explore different materials—crayons, chalk, paintbrushes, markers.
Threading buttons: Use large buttons and yarn or pipe cleaners.
Cooking together: Stirring, pouring, kneading dough. Cooking is packed with fine motor practice.
Footwear Matters
Good footwear supports healthy foot development and stability. Look for shoes with:
A firm heel cup for ankle support
A wide toe box so toes can spread naturally
A flexible sole that bends where the foot bends
A stable arch
Laces, velcro, or fasteners? Whatever works for your child. The key is that the shoe fits well and supports their movement.
Resources for Play-Based Movement
Cosmic Kids Yoga: Free yoga videos designed for children. Search @CosmicKidsYoga on YouTube or Instagram.
Kiddo: A fantastic Australian resource with free activity ideas for play-based learning and movement. Visit kiddo.edu.au/home/activities.
Adding actions to songs: Turn any song into a movement activity. Twinkle Twinkle, Old Macdonald, Roly Poly, Wheels on the Bus—add clapping, jumping, spinning, or animal actions. Any song will work.
When to Seek Physiotherapy Support
Not every child needs physio. But it's worth seeking an assessment if your child:
Isn't meeting motor milestones and you're concerned
Has low muscle tone, stiffness, or coordination difficulties
Struggles with balance or falls frequently
Avoids physical play or tires easily
Has been diagnosed with a condition that affects movement (like cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, or hypermobility)
Needs support to participate in school or community activities
Early intervention makes a difference. The earlier you address movement challenges, the more opportunities your child has to build strength, confidence, and skills.
Reflection Prompt
Before you move forward, take a moment to reflect:
"What everyday activity could become a playful movement opportunity this week?"
Think about where your child naturally moves—the garden, playground, or kitchen floor. Movement doesn't have to be structured to be meaningful.
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From the RippleAbility Team
Movement is one of the most fundamental ways children engage with the world. When movement is hard, it can feel isolating—for both children and their families.
But here's what we know: children are remarkably adaptable. With the right support, playful practice, and a focus on progress (not perfection), they can build the motor skills they need to participate, explore, and thrive.
Milestones are guides, not deadlines. Your child is exactly where they need to be. And with time, patience, and a lot of play, they'll keep moving forward.
This resource provides general guidance only. Every child is unique—please seek professional advice that fits your family's specific needs.
