Skills and Efficiency

Babies cannot do anything for themselves when they are very young. If they need something, they can only cry or move their arms and legs. But soon, babies start to control their movements and learn to coordinate them, which means they can do things on their own.

For example:

• They learn to turn their head and look at something they like.
• If they recognise someone, they might smile.
• They learn to grip and hold things and even take things to their mouth.

As they practice controlling their movements, they start doing more tasks, like:

• Picking up things.
• Holding a spoon and using it to make noise.

Learning a skill means gaining control over your body and learning to do something new. For example, saying your first word or taking your first step is learning a skill.

Everyone is very happy and excited when a baby says her first word or takes her first step. People praise the baby and cheer them on. This makes the baby feel happy, too! The baby then practices the skill repeatedly, like saying words or walking. With practice, the baby gets better at these new skills, making fewer mistakes and doing them more easily. As the baby keeps practicing, her efficiency improves, meaning she can do the tasks quickly and without much effort.

Learning More Skills:

Every day, babies and children keep learning new things, making it easier for them to learn more skills.

For example:

• Once a child learns to hold something, they can learn to throw a ball.
• After learning to walk, a child can learn to do more complex things, such as running, hopping on one leg, or catching a ball.

These skills also include things we do every day, like:

• Eating with our own hands.
• Washing our face.
• Taking a bath on our own.
• Dressing ourselves.