Intentional Catholic Parenting: Physical Development Birth through Adulthood
Parents play a crucial role in nurturing and supporting their children's physical development to ensure they grow up healthy, confident, and capable. Providing opportunities for physical activity, modeling a healthy lifestyle, and offering guidance on nutrition and safety are all important aspects of fostering physical development in children.
Supporting a child's physical development is essential for their overall well-being and future success to ensure their health and well-being, their fine motor skills (e.g., hand-eye coordination, grasping objects) and gross motor skills (e.g., running, jumping, throwing) which are essential for children’s ability to perform daily tasks, participate in sports and recreational activities, and engage in academic tasks like playing an instrument or handwriting. Physical activity has been shown to have a positive impact on brain development, self-esteem and confidence, social interactions, academic performance, independence, healthy habits for life and quality of life.
Knowledge about how children grow and develop physically is a critical component of your children’s development. Once again, the nature versus nurture theory is in effect. Yes, children are born with a genetic plan for their physical growth and development. However, if children fail to receive adequate nutrition, health care, exercise, and stimulation for their development, they will fail to reach their fullest potential for physical growth and development. All fundamental movement patterns emerge in children by the time they reach age five (Curtis, 1992). When nutrition, health care, exercise, and stimulation are combined, children are able to achieve their physical development potential.
Woven throughout the book are connections to Christ's own physical development, as well as references to scripture, the sacraments, and Catholic tradition. Parents will find over 250 ways to intentionally support these concepts and in so doing they will be able to intentionally nurture their children's physical development through to adulthood.