Motor development, learning, and maturation.

Movement is a vehicle for environmental exploration and social interaction. We must foster opportunities for early movement. Our inherent goal is to prepare the practitioner to cultivate early movement competence. Fundamental movement competence encourages the development of more complex and coordinated skills. Ultimately, we propose that movement expression is rooted in the first opportunity and refinement through practice supervised by the qualified practitioner. Our collective goal is to equip society to 1 – value movement but 2 – optimize possible movement. First, we examine human motor development from both nature and nurture perspectives. Notably, nurture extends beyond the immediate family and is further influenced by larger social and cultural constructs. If mindful of the social and cultural lens, the future practitioner may cultivate meaningful changes in movement adherence over the lifespan. The adoption of inclusive approaches deemphasizes a focus on normative comparisons and allows for the individualized expression of movement to unfold. We discuss factors that influence the control of human movement while considering widely supported theories. Also included in this chapter is an examination of motivation and its influence on movement throughout the lifespan. The chapter concludes by outlining how the practitioner can use interventions to support skill development.