Help Your Child Develop Fine Motor Skills

What are fine motor skills?

Fine motor skills are hand and finger actions that require some level of precision, such as writing with a pencil, zipping up a jacket, and using scissors. Babies and young children develop these skills through their experiences with and exposure to a variety of objects, materials, and foods.

Why are fine motor skills important?

Many normal everyday activities require fine motor skills, including getting dressed, eating with silverware, and turning a key to lock a door. Children who don't develop these skills experience delays in learning how to write, playing independently, and engaging in age-appropriate self-care.

Luckily, parents and caregivers have ample opportunities to encourage fine motor skill development in babies and young children.

Easy & Fun Activities for Fine Motor Skill Development

Finger Feeding

Letting babies and young toddlers feed themselves with their fingers allows them to put their thumb and index finger together, a movement called the pincer grasp. This action is one of the necessary precursors to being able to hold a crayon, marker, or pencil.

Small Toy Play

Encourage your toddler to stack blocks, play with sorting toys, and push little cars around. By manipulating these small toys and practicing precise movements, your toddler will increase their hand strength and coordination.

Play Dough

When a child shapes play dough into a ball or a pretend creature, they use their hands and fingers to squeeze, pinch, and pull. These movements strengthen their hand muscles, making play dough a fun way to build fine motor skills!

Finger Painting

Finger painting may be messy, but it's a fun and creative activity with many developmental benefits. It not only strengthens the small muscles in the fingers and hands, it also improves sensory integration skills in toddlers.

Buttoning and Tying

Make a game out of buttoning and unbuttoning a shirt, zipping up a jacket, and tying shoe laces or rope. This will help your child build up their finger strength and dexterity.

Helping Out Around The House

Letting children perform age-appropriate tasks around the house can significantly improve their coordination and precision. These tasks could include setting the table, pouring juice into a cup, or wiping down a counter with a sponge. Many children love to help with meal preparation, so parents and caregivers might allow their children to stir or mix ingredients in the kitchen.

These are just some of the many ways that you can help your child develop fine motor skills. If you try any of our suggestions, we'd love it if you could take a picture or reel and tag us on Instagram :)