Motor Planning

Helping Children Overcome Motor Planning Challenges

Motor planning is an essential skill that allows children to plan, sequence, and carry out physical movements. It plays a key role in everyday activities such as learning new motor skills, participating in play, managing self-care tasks, and engaging in school activities.

Some children find motor planning more challenging, which can affect their confidence, independence, and participation. Occupational therapy (OT) supports children aged 2–16 by helping them develop motor planning skills in a structured, supportive, and child-centred way.

Why Motor Planning Matters

Motor planning is fundamental to a child’s ability to participate independently and confidently in daily life. When motor planning is well developed, children can learn new skills more efficiently, adapt their movements to different environments, and engage more fully in play, self-care, and learning activities. Motor planning enables children to

• Move with confidence: Navigate playgrounds, classrooms, and busy spaces safely.
• Coordinate complex movements: Complete tasks that involve multiple steps, such as dressing or cooking simple snacks.
• Engage in play and sports & Learn new gross motor skills : Participate in games that require timing, sequencing, and body awareness.
• Develop independence: Carry out daily routines with less adult assistance.

Challenges with motor planning can have a ripple effect beyond movement itself. Children may avoid physical activities, experience repeated failure, or become anxious when faced with unfamiliar tasks. Over time, this can impact self-esteem, social participation, and willingness to try new challenges. 

Supporting motor planning early helps reduce frustration, build confidence, and lay strong foundations for participation across home, school, and community settings.

Signs a Child May be Facing Challenges with Motor Planning 

Some common indicators of motor planning difficulties include:

• Frequent trips, bumps, or falls
• Difficulty learning new physical skills or copying actions
• Avoiding activities that require coordination, like climbing or drawing
• Taking longer than peers to complete multi-step tasks
• Have difficulty copying actions or following movement-based instructions
• Take longer to complete self-care tasks like dressing or tying shoelaces
• Become frustrated or anxious when faced with unfamiliar physical tasks

These may present challenges with everyday activities. For example:

Getting dressed: A child may struggle to sequence the steps of dressing, orient clothing correctly, or adjust their movements when clothing feels different. This can result in taking a long time to dress or avoiding the task altogether.

Playground play: A child may hesitate when approaching climbing equipment, appear unsure how to position their body, or need repeated trial-and-error before successfully navigating the structure.

Classroom tasks: A child may struggle to copy actions in PE, follow movement-based instructions, or learn new fine motor skills such as cutting or handwriting, despite adequate strength and motivation.

These challenges reflect difficulties with planning and organising movement rather than behavioural or motivational concerns.

How Therapy Can Support Motor Planning

At Magic Beans, our Occupational therapists support motor planning by helping children build strong foundations for movement and confidence. Our programs may include:

• Developing Body Awareness and Sensory Processing: OTs help children improve awareness of where their body is in space through activities that provide rich sensory input, such as climbing, pushing, pulling, and heavy work. These experiences support the brain’s ability to plan and adjust movements.
• Breaking Down and Practising Movement Sequences: OTs break tasks into manageable steps and practise them in a structured way, gradually increasing complexity as the child gains confidence. Repetition in varied contexts helps children generalise motor plans to new situations.
• Using Play-Based and Meaningful Activities: Motor planning is best developed through play. OTs use obstacle courses, pretend play, ball games, construction activities, and everyday tasks to make practice engaging and purposeful.
• Supporting Emotional Regulation and Confidence: Children with motor planning difficulties may experience frustration or avoidance. OTs support emotional regulation, provide encouragement, and grade activities carefully to ensure success while still offering challenge.
• Adapting Tasks and Environments: OTs modify activities or environments to reduce barriers to participation. This may include changing task demands, providing visual cues, or adjusting the physical setup to support success.
• Coaching Parents and Caregivers: OTs work closely with parents to embed motor planning practice into daily routines such as dressing, playtime, and community outings. Consistent practice in real-life contexts supports long-term progress.

Each program is customised to the child’s abilities and interests, making therapy effective and enjoyable.

Supporting Attention at Home

Parents can support attention development with small, everyday strategies:

• Break tasks into smaller, achievable steps
• Minimise distractions during homework or chores
• Use visual schedules, timers, or checklists to guide tasks
• Include short activity breaks to help children reset and refocus

Helping Children Thrive

Strengthening attention skills is about giving children the tools to focus, manage tasks, and participate confidently in daily life. At Magic Beans, we work alongside children and families to build these skills in a positive, playful, and lasting way—helping every child develop the skills they need to navigate the world successfully.

References

• Ayres, A. J. (2005). Sensory Integration and the Child.
• Bundy, A. C., Lane, S. J., & Murray, E. A. (2002). Sensory Integration: Theory and Practice.
• Case-Smith, J., & O’Brien, J. C. (2015). Occupational Therapy for Children and Adolescents.
• American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Praxis and Motor Planning