Why Motor Skills Matter : Improve Your Child's Physical Development to Enhance Learning and Self-Esteem [Paperback]

Tara Losquadro Liddle (Author), Laura Yorke (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2003

Practical advice for parents on the interaction among their child's muscular, mental, and motor development

"Why Motor Skills Matter provides not only knowledge but a game plan as to how parents can help their little ones develop optimal potential via play, stimulation, and establishment of an appropriate environment." --Ruth A. Peters, Ph.D., bestselling author of Laying Down the Law

According to pediatric physical therapist Tara Losquadro Liddle, playful interaction beginning in infancy is crucial to a child's learning ablilities, language, speech, and overall emotional balance. Filled with practical, age-appropriate activities for newborns up to five years old, Why Motor Skills Matter shows parents how to:

• Integrate touch, movement, and body awareness during playtime
• Bolster motor skills
• Develop appropriate play for each age level
• Understand their child's development

Why Motor Skills Matter explains the impact motor skills have on the neurodevelopment of a child, helping parents participate more fully in their child's development.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pediatric physical therapist Liddle's commonsense guide to early childhood development advocates a body-centered approach to development for unsure parents, or nervous parents-to-be. The author supports her thesis-"that mild deficiencies in physical development could have a major impact on self-esteem and well-being"-with four thorough sections: an overview of the newborn sensory system; first year of development; motor skills and language through age five; and a final part on children with "special considerations" (e.g., preemies and babies with low muscle tone, sensory issues or orthopedic conditions). Aided by editor Yorke, Liddle's non-technical prose explains infants' sensory systems (vestibular for balance, proprioceptive for spatial location and tactile for touch) and the importance of ensuring they work in harmony. The "ability to utilize our senses... to absorb information, sort it out, and then respond to it" defines Liddle's therapeutic specialty, sensory integration. She stresses that the quality of a baby's progression from belly play to sitting, crawling and creeping, is more important than the timing of these milestones, and she makes a compelling case for the connection between a newborn's muscle tone and his or her cognitive development and ultimate emotional and social success. Not another trend to promote exceptional babies, Liddle's sensible, unpreachy advice draws on solid orthopedic science to back up the relationship between physical movement and learning. In addition to sidebars on toys, and line drawings, lists of source materials, a bibliography and an index enhance this well-informed handbook.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Back Cover

Learn to use physical activity to raise an emotionally well-balanced, more coordinated, and happier child


"Parents and educators may underestimate the value of motor development during childhood. This book does much to fill a wide gap in understanding its relevance. Supplied with the practical content of these pages, parents can assist their children to savor an important form of mastery and gratification."
--Mel Levine, author of A Mind at a Time

"Finally . . . a book for parents that demystifies motor development. Why Motor Skills Matter provides a game plan as to how parents can help their little ones develop optimal potential via play, stimulation, and establishment of an appropriate environment."
--Ruth Peters, Ph.D., bestselling author of Laying Down the Law: The 25 Laws of Parenting

Is your child a loner because he won't play with other children on the playground--or does he hang back because he lacks the strength or balance to master the monkey bars? Is your baby lazy because she won't roll over--or does she simply have weak stomach muscles? Minor developmental lags can lead to a misreading of your child's abilities as well as behavior. But not if you know what to look for and how to help your child.


According to leading pediatric physical therapist Tara Losquandro-Liddle, playful interaction beginning in infancy is crucial to a child's cognitive skills, language, speech, and overall emotional balance. Filled with practical, age-appropriate activities for children from newborns up to five-year-olds, Why Motor Skills Matter helps you to:

• Integrate touch, movement, and body awareness during playtime
• Ensure that your child progresses through the proper developmental sequence
• Learn what actions to take if milestones are missed
• Determine if your child has sensory integration difficulties or disorders
• Avoid common developmental mistakes, such as using exersaucers, having your child wear hard-soled shoes, promoting early walking
• Raise a secure child in every way

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (September 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071408185
• ISBN-13: 978-0071408189
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #183,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important resource for parents of young children!, December 9, 2003

By 

Rae Pica (Ctr. Barnstead, NH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Motor Skills Matter : Improve Your Child's Physical Development to Enhance Learning and Self-Esteem (Paperback)

For far too long, people have believed that the mind and body are separate entitities -- and that the functions of the mind are superior to those of the body. Pediatric physical therapist Tara Losquadro Liddle helps parents see that motor development is equally as important as cognitive and social/emotional development. In fact, motor activities contribute to cognitive and social/emotional development!

As a children's movement specialist who, for 24 years, has written and spoken about the importance of movement in children's lives and education, I practically used up my highlighter as I read this book! It's easy to read and understand, and it just makes so much sense. I recommend it for all parents of children birth to age five and think it should be on every expectant parent's list of books to read.

Rae Pica
Author of Your Active Child

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NewMom, July 4, 2007

By 

Christine S (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Motor Skills Matter : Improve Your Child's Physical Development to Enhance Learning and Self-Esteem (Paperback)

I checked this book out of the library a few weeks before my daughter (now 3 months old) was born. One of these days they won't let me renew it and I'll have to break down and get my own copy! This book is packed full of valuable information. My daughter is developing very well thanks to suggested activities and toys. I'm grateful to have recommendations at my fingertips about how to help her develop in various areas and why each area of development is important. I guess I assumed helping babies and children learn the skills they need would be second nature. (Kind of like breast feeding - HA!) A friend of my grandmother's who is an administrator at a physical therapy school recommended I get a book about motor skills. I'm so glad I stumbled upon this one!