Clumsiness in children may not be caused by unpracticed motor skills but clumsiness might be cause by stressful events during their mother's pregnancy with them.
A study revealed that clumsiness seen in children might have deeper causes that can be traced back to their mother's.
The group of researchers evaluated 2,900 children with varying ages from 10 to 14 and 17 years. The children were given a ten-item movement test.
The test included abilities to stand on one foot, hand strength, turning a nut on a bolt, threading beads into a rod, and walking on a straight line.
Researchers interviewed mothers-to-be when they were 18 weeks pregnant and followed up with another interview during the last few months of their pregnancy at 34 weeks in the study to reflect their theories.
The data the researchers gathered from the tests in the children showed that children born to mothers who had numerous stressful events during their pregnancies recorded the worst on all survey years.
"This is down to the accumulative effect of stress on the part of the child's brain called the cerebellar cortex which develops later in pregnancy," Academics at the University of Notre Dame Australia suggested. While any decreased motor development from the kids could be cause by ill-health.
According to the study, the most common stress inducing event that the mothers suffered on their third trimester of pregnancy was money issues, which reportedly affected over a quarter of the interviewees. The second most common stress factor was suffering a difficult pregnancy. Other major stress factors listed were moving houses, marital concerns, and problems with other children.
The study reveals the importance of mental and emotional health of a mother-to-be, Beth Hands, co-author of the study and professor for human movement at the University of Notre Dame, Australia, said.
