Learn To Jump
Jumping is an important gross motor skill that kids develop between the ages of 2-3. Jumping comes in many shapes and sizes with varying levels of difficulty ranging from a simple vertical jump to the more complex jumping forward, jumping over, and jumping down. Most kids are able to jump getting both feet off of the ground boy age 2. Now the amount of clearance from the ground isn’t super important in the beginning, what you are looking for is your child’s ability to bend their knees and propel upward.
Jumping
Jumping is one of my favorite gross motor skills. There are so many different versions of this one skill that kids can practice and incorporate into play which makes it really versatile and fun. Jumping also challenges both our muscle strength and our cardiovascular endurance making it a great way to exercise. Before we dive deeper into the different forms of jumping let’s review some of the terms I just mentioned so we can better understand the benefits of jumping.
Gross Motor Skills: Skills that use large muscles in the torso, arms, and legs. These skills are often whole body movements that require balance and coordination. Examples include sitting, crawling, walking, running, playing with a ball, and jumping.
Muscle Strength: The amount of force a muscle can create.
Cardiovascular Endurance: The body’s ability to supply oxygen to the muscles during sustained physical activity.