Child Life Certification Practice Test 2025 - Free Child Life Practice Questions and Study Guide

Motor skill development in children typically progresses in a cephalocaudal manner, meaning that control moves from the head downward toward the feet. This pattern is observed as infants initially gain control of their head and neck, followed by their upper torso and arms, before developing finer motor skills in their hands and fingers. For example, a child will first learn to hold their head up, then sit up, crawl, and eventually walk, demonstrating this head-to-toe progression in both gross and fine motor skills.

In contrast to this cephalocaudal progression, the "proximo-distal" pattern describes development starting from the center of the body outward to the extremities, which affects how motor control is acquired. While there are important elements that involve both the upper and lower parts of the body in child development, the key focus here is on the control starting visibly from the head and moving down towards the feet, making the orientation of this development crucial in understanding how children grow and refine their motor skills.