Psychomotor Development and Motor Skills in Learni
Psychomotor Development and Motor Skills in Learni
a
Universidad Laica “Eloy Alfaro de Manabí” Extensión Chone, Manabí, Ecuador
b
Universidad Laica “Eloy Alfaro de Manabí” Extensión Chone, Manabí, Ecuador
560
IRJMIS ISSN: 2395-7492 561
1 Introduction
The child development center (CDI), the Bejuco Hacha of the Santa Rita parish of Chon Canton, presents difficulties
in psychomotor development and motor skills in learning in boys and girls from 1 to 3 years old; addition, they need
to develop a plan of stimulation activities, which help to mitigate these difficulties, in order to avoid future problems
at the time of entering school. One of the difficulties observed is that they do not respond adequately to the demands
set forth by the educators, with the main cause being the attention protocol in the CDI, the systematization of the
activities that the educators must carry out in the areas, the axes and areas of development, learning, skills and their
objectives, in order to develop an adequate teaching-learning process.
Psychomotricity is a discipline in charge of the integral development of people through their body and their
movements, which must be developed in the first years of life to guarantee a correct acquisition of skills and learning,
which will serve for the motor development of boys and girls (Aguilar & Huamani, 2017). In the field of the problem
there is evidence of a group of factors that hinder psychomotor development, which are mainly focused on incorrect
early stimulation due to the lack or scarce didactic material required to carry out the appropriate strategies, which due
to lack of resources are not incorporated into the stimulation tasks, and potentiate the motor skills, additionally, the
little or scarce cooperation of the parents in this process, due to the importance of their intervention, considering that
they are the main caregiver of the children and girls in their first years of life who spend most of their time with them
and can contribute to their motor stimulation (Wang et al., 2010; Calzo et al., 2012).
From the experience of the teachers of the child development center, that motor development is also achieved with
adequate and balanced nutrition, which includes the consumption of minerals, protein and carbohydrates. The first two
years of a child's life are especially important, since optimal nutrition during this period reduces morbidity and
mortality (Pan American Health Organization, 2018), as well as the risk of chronic diseases and improves development
general (Secretary of Health, 2015). A malnourished boy or girl will not be able to adequately develop any of their
skills or competencies, limiting the acquisition of skills, evident in their motor agility and a delay in their physical
growth, so psychomotricity is a neuroscience that transforms harmonic motor thinking psychomotor education that is
the starting point for the learning process of children (Evenson et al., 2013; Ding et al., 2011).
Commonly, if the child has a learning disability, it is the result of some deficiency in psychomotor development
(García, 2016). The child who presents constituted psychomotor development can hardly present problems in writing,
reading, towards graphics, in the distinction of letters, in the order of syllables, in abstract thought and grammatical
analysis, logic, among others (Fernández, 2007), in addition, motor development is also achieved through play, the
child sees the need to share with his other peers, although the opposite position is a collaborative relationship. This
interface exposes the potential of the participants, affecting their emotions and tests essential skills for their future
professional performance, such as attention, affection, the habit of staying focused and other aspects of perceptive
psychomotricity (Anne, 2016).
To determine how psychomotor development influences learning skills in children from 1 to 3 years of age,
observation of their work must be achieved, as part of the knowledge of the problem. For the development of the
research, the quantitative method was used, inductive and deductive, with this it was possible to establish a process in
which it was possible to know that motor activities and good nutrition develop good learning. Psychomotor education
with children must provide essential basic training in their motor, emotional and psychological development, giving
the opportunity so that through games and movements that they carry out in the educational center, in addition to the
appropriate skills, through these activities they develop their perceptual skills as a means of adjusting psychomotor
behavior. Within this same aspect, the practice of activities based on play and fun stands out, because it is a way for
children to learn in a satisfactory and effective way. The playful context is important for the socialization of people in
their first years of coexistence, the game serves to build skills and engage in a motivating, pleasant and planned
environment for early childhood education (García, 2016).
What has been stated by different authors about psychomotor development and motor skills in learning in boys and
girls from 1 to 3 years old, it should be stated that they need to maintain good nutrition, play games and recreational
activities that help in early stimulation, This is how they are accessing to have a greater awakening in their imagination,
a better development of creativity, encouraging them to discover and use intelligence individually; In addition to
experiencing the environment where they are, discovering their own personality through psychomotor development,
since it is necessary for them to learn to know themselves, others and the environment, through which they will
experience new things that will be of great relevance in their future, but that it is also necessary to put them in contact
with cultural and moral values, so that they foster respect and honesty. Psychomotor development (Pierrot-Deseilligny
et al., 2003; Serradj & Jamon, 2007).
Cedeño-Roldán, M. A., & Reyes-Meza, O. B. (2022). Psychomotor development and motor skills in learning in
children from 1 to 3 years old. International Research Journal of Management, IT and Social Sciences, 9(4), 560-
568. https://doi.org/10.21744/irjmis.v9n4.2123
562 ISSN: 2395-7492
The acquisition of skills that is observed in the child continuously throughout childhood, corresponds both to the
maturation of the nervous structures (brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles) Mendoza (2018), as well as the learning
that the baby, then the child -does discovering himself and the world around him, these are motor skills (Toasa Cobo,
2015).
The motor area contemplates everything related to movement, the first reactions of the newborn have a motor
character and are evident through their reflexes. These automatic and unconscious responses that over the months will
lose their character, to become deliberate responses or behaviors. In this way, the movement becomes a great pillar of
learning effectiveness and intellectual development. Exercise is the result of motor development, which is the basis of
integral human development, because it is a dimension that is closely related to the development of the cognitive,
perceptive, physical, emotional, and somatic sensations aspects of the human being. Intelligence such as control of
body movement and the ability to manipulate objects (Luna et al., 2016).
Motor skills is a vital and complex process, resulting from genetic and environmental influences, which involve
changes in the movement, postures, and positions of people throughout life. It is interrelated not only with physical
growth, but also with cognitive development and social development (Larrey et al., 2019).
According to other authors, it is the area that studies the changes in human motor skills from birth to old age and
the factors that intervene in these changes, as well as the relationship with other areas of behavior (Mendoza, 2018).
to motor development, as the progressive changes in motor behavior throughout the life cycle, caused by the interaction
of the required movement tasks, the biology of the individual and the conditions of the learning environment (Gallahue
et al., 2016).
This process, which involves the progressive acquisition of motor skills that allow adequate postural control,
movement, and maintenance of manual dexterity, is divided into two parts: total motor development that occurs in the
craniocaudal direction and is associated with changes in body position, and the ability to control them to maintain
balance, posture, and movement that allows head movement (Glaser et al., 2015; Abubakar et al., 2008). sit, crawl,
walk, jump, run, climb stairs, etc. unsupported. Fine motor development that occurs distally and is associated with the
use of individual body parts such as the hands, with this skill you will be able to pick up and manipulate toys, shake
things, cover and cover things, grasp very small things, rotate them, write, etc. until reaching more complex levels
where eye-hand coordination is required (Medina, et al., 2015).
The analysis of the instruments applied (observation sheets aimed at children and the interview with the educators and
coordinator of the CDI of Bejuco, Hacha), were structured based on the concepts previously indicated, exposing the
following results of the survey in the case of related to adequately developed their motor skills. According to the data
collected, it was found that the parents stated that their child has adequately developed their motor skills; being an
advantage since in this way better learning and skills are obtained in the activities they carry out, which serves as a
basis for when they begin their studies in an educational institution (Chan et al., 2009; López-Alonso et al., 2014).
It is a favorable result, which was evidenced in a hundred percent, which reflects the great ability that boys and
girls are developing thanks to the activities that their educators carry out with them within the CDI. Motor development,
as the progressive changes in their behavior throughout the life cycle, caused by the interaction of the required
movement tasks, the biology of the individual and the conditions of the learning environment, which are achieved with
the activities covered in infants, sharing this opinion with the authors (Gallahue et al., 2016). Parents were consulted
about their children's motor development, the results are shown in
figure 2.
The person who assists the child in motor activities reflects a large percentage, which demonstrates the consolidation
in its maturation process, which determines according to data the development of psychomotor skills and abilities,
maintaining coherence between age and its integral development, as well as reflecting the results with the guidelines
established in the activity plan for to this end, Table 1 shows the recommendations that parents receive from their
children’s educator.
Table 1
Educator recommendations to parents
Cedeño-Roldán, M. A., & Reyes-Meza, O. B. (2022). Psychomotor development and motor skills in learning in
children from 1 to 3 years old. International Research Journal of Management, IT and Social Sciences, 9(4), 560-
568. https://doi.org/10.21744/irjmis.v9n4.2123
564 ISSN: 2395-7492
As observed in use the didactic materials that they elaborate for fine motor skills, significant adults work more with
fine motor skills, there being an imbalance with games to enhance motor development, which implies working more
on that for psychomotor development, and with this affirm motor skills like running, jumping, throwing object,
grabbing something, etc.
Psychomotor development according to Mendoza (2018), expresses that it is the acquisition of skills that is
observed in the child continuously throughout childhood, it corresponds both to the maturation of the nervous structures
(brain, spinal cord, nerves, and muscles) and learning. that of the baby, then as a child, he discovers himself and the
world around him. Motor skills according to (Toasa Cobo, 2015), what is observed in table 1 does not contradict, rather
it affirms the work of educators with infants. In table 2, the ways in which the family environment favors the
development psychomotor.
Table 2
Ways in which the family environment favors psychomotor development
The statistics revealed by the parents, It is possible to understand the usefulness of the didactic materials in the
development of the children's skills, having an objective comparison point and when the material is used according to
the one assigned by the tutor, this has a greater development, being focused on a 59%; However, without leaving other
criteria, the materials, the interactive games, the eating habits, among others, are components that demonstrate the
importance of the boy or girl having a significant adult in their development.
The data obtained show the high degree of attention to the child in an integral way in the family environment. The
environments are conducive to their growth and development, sharing the data in figure 3, which shows the motor
skills that children must develop. Showing how favorable it is for infants to have their adequate family environment,
where psychomotor development is conducive to their growth and development, so that, by having a safe environment,
the child's emotional state is also stable, in this sense Parents, when working with children, contribute significantly to
the infant's motor skills (Velásquez et al., 2022).
The motor skills that infants establish and that is reflected in learning, is evidenced in the child's ability to coordinate
movements of the extremities and segments of the body to achieve a specific goal, and in high-skill behaviors,
movements that require sensory cognitive and motor activities, carried out by an action as shown in the results observed
in a practice with children. In the study carried out, all those activities shown in figure 3 were fulfilled, such as
recognizing oneself, defining its laterality, maintaining balance, coordinated movements, and other activities related
to balance and coordinated movements, such as body games such as jumping, run, throw, roll, the guide of the boys
and girls helped them to carry out activities such as: walking on tiptoes, heels, squatting, jumping; cartwheeling
forwards and backwards, kicking a soccer ball, where they showed that they can do it normally, executing each one of
them with enthusiasm and determination, demonstrating that they also often took the initiative to play with others. This
allowed verifying that children from 1 to 3 years old have good motor skills that help them in their learning, as defined
by (Medina et al., 2015), the process that involves the progressive acquisition of motor skills that allow maintaining
adequate control. postural, movement and manual dexterity.” posture that is achieved when the family environment is
favorable.
The research showed that parents have interest and motivation to support their children, because they have been
able to observe that they adequately develop their motor skills in the activities they carry out and even when they are
at home; receiving with interest and putting into practice the recommendations given by the CNH educators, to which
they are integrated into the motor tasks that they send their children to do, supported by materials from the environment
that they have been able to carry out with the help of the educators or guides, because they emphasize that the materials
of the medium are much better to elaborate them and to carry out the activities with their children; considering in this
way that the accompaniment that children have represents a high percentage in their motor development. Parents are
aware of the activities that are carried out with their children, making this generate a great potential to continue with
daily tasks and it is achieved that children develop with confidence and learn every day, experiment new things and
become familiar with their environment, which is what helps them the most in their psychomotor development.
The motor skills in the learning of the boys and girls from 1 to 3 years of age from the CDI Bejuco Hacha of the
Quebrada El Bejuco site are really positive, because they have learned to develop activities quickly in a surprising
way, both in their perceptive capacity and their motor skills such as moving, running, jumping, jumping, standing on
one foot, holding objects in their hands, helping to identify which laterality is the most inclined for their activities. The
knowledge of psychomotor development and the observed activity , is relevant, because its identification presupposes
basic knowledge of the development of the central nervous system, since psychomotricity represents the domain that
every boy and girl must possess to coordinate their movements well, improve their abilities, making them mature with
Cedeño-Roldán, M. A., & Reyes-Meza, O. B. (2022). Psychomotor development and motor skills in learning in
children from 1 to 3 years old. International Research Journal of Management, IT and Social Sciences, 9(4), 560-
568. https://doi.org/10.21744/irjmis.v9n4.2123
566 ISSN: 2395-7492
their genetic potentialities and with the intervention of the educators and the support of their parents at home, they
build their own identity and gradually discover the world of objects through movement.
When evaluating the eating habits that help in the motor development of boys and girls, it was possible to identify
and verify that the CDI complies with the proper feeding standards for them, because they maintain a set breakfast
schedule, then the snack, to move on to their lunch, which is made up of a balanced diet that also favors their nutrition;
Likewise, they receive a snack in the afternoon before going home and once at home, their parents complement this
process by giving them their dinner or snack at the time that should be received by the boys and girls.
It should be considered that nutrition and motor development have a great relationship between growth and feeding
because the maintenance of organic functions is essential that children from their first years of life consume food in
adequate amounts, because their body or organisms does not receive enough nutritional substances, it can negatively
generate nutritional problems such as malnutrition and more severe cases such as anemia; For this reason, good
nutrition and food represent an effective tool to promote health and prevent diseases in children
4 Conclusion
It was found that the children between the ages of 1 and 3 years of the CDI of Bejuco Hacha of the Quebrada el Bejuco
site, present a good psychomotor development, fulfilling the activities that were carried out under the guidance of the
educators and support of the parents of the family managed to carry them out according to what was indicated to them,
being something very favorable since it is necessary that at this age they can already recognize each one of the parts
of their body that also served to reflect the positive results, it was possible to verify that they know how to define their
laterality, recognizing each of their sides (right and left), that is, it was identified which side they use to carry out their
daily activities, which influences their matrix and learning processes, identifying the spatial structures of letter symbols
from their earliest years of learning. Remembering also that they preserved stability and remained in a proper posture,
that is, they have learned to control their body.
Statement of authorship
The authors have a responsibility for the conception and design of the study. The authors have approved the final
article.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the earlier version of this paper.
Cedeño-Roldán, M. A., & Reyes-Meza, O. B. (2022). Psychomotor development and motor skills in learning in
children from 1 to 3 years old. International Research Journal of Management, IT and Social Sciences, 9(4), 560-
568. https://doi.org/10.21744/irjmis.v9n4.2123
568 ISSN: 2395-7492
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