Motor development is the acquisition of the muscular control necessary for coordinated physical activity. It follows two general principles. The first is the cephalo-caudal principle, which means that part of the body closer to the head develop before that part closer to the feet. For example, as infants learned to crawl, they first do so by using their more developed arms and only later their feet.
The second factor governing motor development is the proximodistal principle, which means of that part closer to the center of the infant’s body develop before parts farther away. For example, in reaching for objects, infants first use their more develop arm s and then their fingers, whose control develops later.
Much of the sequence in developing early motor skills is governed by a process known as maturation. Maturation is a development occurs in a sequential and orderly fashion because of a genetic plan. A child first step is a good example of maturation, since it has been provided by the development and control of many sets of muscular activities. The sequence of motor development and control that results in walking is, to a major extent, controlled by maturation.