Helping Your Child Develop Fine Motor Skills

July 23, 2021 / Parent Resources

What are fine motor skills? They involve the use of small muscles in our wrists, hands, feet, fingers, and toes. Developing fine motor skills involves actions such as grasping, holding, or pressing.

There are so many things we do each day that require fine motor skills that it’s easy to sometimes forget how important these skills are. Here are some activities that could develop your child’s fine motor skills.

Puzzles

We know watching your child lose puzzle pieces (or worse, put them in their mouth!) can be frustrating. Solving puzzles is still, however, a wonderful way to develop your child’s pincer grasp.

Osmo’s Tangram is a puzzle game your child is sure to love!

Doodling, Drawing & Painting

The simple act of dipping a brush in paint can develop your child’s motor skills. You could place your hand on theirs to make them move across the paper, if needed. Your kids could also do some finger painting if holding a brush seems difficult.

Play-Dough

Play-dough is every child’s favorite material to play with. If you like, you could make your very own play-dough with your little one! As your child experiments with it, they also build their fine motor skills.

Block Play

Building blocks and stacking pieces can greatly improve your child’s fine motor skills and muscle strength. Learning to hold a pencil or learning to write can in fact be a lot easier for your child after playing with blocks.

Bath Time Play

Draw a nice warm bath for your little one. Then, place a few rubber toys or sponges inside. This way, you could encourage them to squeeze the toys to build their fine motor skills.

Poor coordination & fine motor skills can affect the way your child eats, plays, and even dresses. If you observe that your child seems to be developing at a slower rate than their peers, it is normal. Every child develops at a different rate. Remember to acknowledge and praise your child at each step so that they feel encouraged to keep trying. If their self-confidence has taken a hit, return to the difficult activities after a few days.