WJEC GCSE Health and Social Care, and Childcare

1. What does the term physical development refer to? 2. Identify whether each of the following is an example of a gross or fine motor skill: a) kicking a football b) tying a shoelace c) sitting up unaided. 3. Outline two reasons to explain why a 15-year-old adolescent is likely to have better tennis playing skills than an 11-year-old child. 4. Explain how a person’s physical skills and abilities change in later adulthood. Check your understanding Later adulthood From middle age onwards, physical development is about adapting to the changes that are occurring in a person’s ageing body. People tend to find new ways to do physical tasks and meet their everyday needs when their strength, stamina and physical skills decline and they lose the ability to function as they did earlier in life. Many of the physical changes that occur in later adulthood, or old age, are part of the normal ageing process, although a person’s physical abilities may also be affected by ill health and long-term conditions. Case study Sam and Ceri’s daughter, Ellen, is now a year old. She is able to pull herself up to a standing position and can walk while in the house if she holds on to furniture. She can sit unsupported on the floor and does this when playing with her toys. Sam and Ceri often take Ellen to the park in her pushchair. Ellen enjoys being pushed along as her parents jog around the park. 1. Identify one activity Ellen does where she uses gross motor skills. 2. How could Sam and Ceri encourage Ellen to develop her gross motor skills further? 3. What kind of toys or activities might help Ellen to develop her gross motor skills? Gross motor skills involve whole body movements. 20 1.1 Human development across the life cycle