Introduction The three main theories of motor development are maturation, sensory processing, and dynamics. Maturation refers to the biological growth processes that begin at conception and lead to the maturity of the body. These innate (congenital) changes occur automatically in the body, brain, and nervous system in an orderly sequence and at more or less the same time for most children. Because these changes are innate, they are not influenced by environmental experiences. Many of our basic skills are closely linked to maturation. Maturation consists of three phases of motor development which are: equal lateral (motor movements on both sides), lateral (unilateral motor movements) and bilateral (motor movements on the opposite side or crossed). Sensory processing is a complex set of actions that enable your brain to understand what is happening both inside your body and in the world around you. The brain receives information through the senses: it processes this information and organizes a motor response, i.e. a sensory integration function (A. Jean Ayres, 1985). Sensory processing contains five sensory systems in the sensory integration model which are; Tactile (sense of touch), Vestibular (how the body responds to gravity), Proprioceptive (internal awareness of the body), Auditory (receiving, identifying, discriminating, understanding and responding to vibrations) and Visual (sense of sight, related to vestibular) .Dynamic theory is the nervous system is considered part of the developing motor system, the nervous system must dynamically change and interact with other systems to achieve coordinated movement (Kamm, Thelen, & Jenson, 1990). There are four stages of motor development that are shared with the dynamic theory such as reflex, ru...... middle of paper...... conclusion Maturational theorist Arnold Gesell believes that a child will develop biologically and that the his environment will have little involvement in the child's development. Through numerous experiments conducted, he was able to put together and create a schedule of when milestones will occur, known as the "Gesell Development Schedule", in which he was able to compare a child's development to the standard norm . He also created the "Gesell Maturation Theory", according to which heredity is much more important in growth and development than the child's educational environment. Gesell's theory of maturation is still seen today in the daily lives of children, from the time they are in the fetus through our adult lives. His theory shows both strengths and weaknesses and other theorists challenge his theory, but the nature vs. nurture debate will always arise.