What is motor ability?

Gross motor ability refers to the movement of large parts of your body. For example, swinging your arms is a gross motor activity.

In contrast, fine motor activity refers to more detailed movements made with smaller parts of your body. For example, moving your fingers to pick up something small requires fine motor activity.

Infants typically develop control over gross motor movements before fine motor movements. Example, they can swing their arms and kick their legs before they are able to pinch something between their thumb and forefinger.