Jimmy is all around the house, it is difficult to keep track of him!, Jimmy's mom says in a cheerful tone. The maternity group is gathered once again. Five 8-month old infants and their moms. They chat about feeding, sleeping, diapers, and motor milestones. One of the infants, little Heather, is not crawling around, and her mum Sarah feels a certain pressure. Seeing the infants together, it is obvious that her daughter is not as active as her peers, which rise her concerns. Why isn't Heather moving around? Will she ever get up from that floor? Am I doing something wrong? She wonders anxiously.
Being in Sarah's shoes is an unpleasant feeling, and these shoes have been worn by many parents before. The doubt of the development of one's own precious children is an unpleasant feeling most parents can recall. Looking at this situation from an outside perspective raises several questions and thoughts: Is the acceptance for diversity when it comes to motor function and development in children too narrow? Is this diversity a problem, and if so, for whom? And how can we understand it?
Lifelong competition
Some people might see all aspects of life as an endless competition. It starts at the first breath: What was the length and weight of the baby? When did you see the first smile, at what age did they say their first word? Being prior in a field is seen as a strength. To compare and compete with peers is a natural affair and a social inherent instinct. Thus, the race of attaining motor milestones can be understood as one of many competitions in life. My experience after assessing more than 600 infants in my PhD-project, is that parents seems proud of having children that are ahead of their motor developmental schedule, while parents of infants with a slower development kind of apologize on behalf of their infants, describing them as lazy. As a pediatric physiotherapist I have the knowledge and experience of the broad diversity in typical motor development. However, I also meet the infants and children with established motor difficulties, who struggle with simple everyday tasks and play activities. When they enter school and physical education, they are often lagging behind in play, need more time for dressing or have difficulties kicking or catching a ball.
Motor development cannot be distinguished from psychological development as these two constructs are fundamentally related. New motor skills create new opportunities for exploration and learning that initiate cascades of development across diverse psychological domains (1). The development of gross motor abilities, has been shown to influence infants' independence and self-care. For example, walking without assistance is followed by emotional changes reflecting autonomy and assertiveness, promoting social skills and attachment (2). Research has pointed that children with good motor skills are more popular and serve higher status than children with poor motor skills. Further, children with poor motor skills are less likely to be included in play, which in turn leads to a vicious circle of less movement experiences and less experiences in social interaction (3). Hence, children with motor precocity might have a head start in developing social relationships and friendships, which in turn nourishes the competition of motor development.
Milestone mafia
Several parents have experienced comments from the neighbour next-door that their child is not walking yet, while all the three sons of the neighbour a
