Tokyo: Infants' rapidly moving hands and feet and their sudden movements are usually a cause of concern for parents, but in a new study, scientists have found out why children do these movements.

According to a study conducted by Japanese experts, these movements prepare children for other problems such as kneeling or holding things in the future.

In the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, experts from the University of Tokyo installed motion-watching trackers in 10 three-month-Olds with 12 newborns (who were younger than 10 days) to measure their spontaneous movements.

These movements, including moving children's legs or slipping out of their place, are done without any purpose or external force.


The scientists later put the data from the tracker installed in a computer program, which helped them analyze how the muscles throughout the children's body were in contact with each other.

Scientists found that the style of spontaneous movements helps in the development of sensory motor systems in children. This system gives the body the ability to control muscle movement interactions.


Lead author Professor Hoshinori Kenazawa said that this research has completely changed the studies of the past. According to this research, the development of this sensory system in children is due to the repetition of these movements.