Fine tuning those fine motor skills!
Fine motor skills are those that involve a refined use of the small muscles which control the hand, fingers and thumb. Developing these skills is incredibly important to give children independence with tasks such as writing, feeding themselves, doing up buttons and zips.
Little hands need to develop dexterity and strength, which parents or caregivers can support by encouraging children to play, explore and interact with a variety of items.
We’re so lucky that there’s so many fun activities we can do to put these skills into practice! At Step Ahead, we love working with clay, moulding with play dough, painting with brushes, drawing with crayons and pencils, weaving and threading beads.
Fine motor skills are those that involve a refined use of the small muscles which control the hand, fingers and thumb. Developing these skills is incredibly important to give children independence with tasks such as writing, feeding themselves, doing up buttons and zips.
There’s also lots of age appropriate jobs around the house that young people can help with to improve their fine motor skills – some great examples are hanging up the washing (learning how to use pegs can be tricky), helping to fold the washing (including doing up all the buttons and zips), picking up crumbs off the floor, writing out the shopping list (you might need a back up of this!), or why not make some bread or scones so your little people can mix in the butter and then knead out the dough. Here’s a link to our favourite scone recipe!
For Babies
For your wee ones, a couple of great places to start are with tummy time, giving your baby time to push up, shift from side to side and eventually swipe at objects in front of them (on their tummy and their back) and well as finger feeding (picking up food with fingers helps develop a good pincer grasp (thumb and first finger together), which is a necessary precursor to holding a crayon).
Here’s some tips for helping your little ones improve their fine motor skills:
Play with Small Items – stack blocks, string beads and puzzles (always supervise children when playing with beads and other small items as they may be a choking hazard).
Play Dough – a family favourite to build hand strength! You can also try play foam or a similar non toxic and malleable substance
Painting / Colouring – with big paint brushes (or fingers for babies), either with paint, pudding or shaving cream. Large crayons are also great for those getting into drawing.
Getting Dressed / Dress Ups – buttons, zips, hooks and ties are all great for small fingers to build strength and dexterity. This can also be fun with dolls and dress ups.
Doing the ‘Washing’ – use pegs for hang pictures, pictures or clothes on a clothesline with spring loaded clothes pins to build pincer strength.