Motor learning results in the ability to perform a skill as a result of practice or experience. In adulthood, we think nothing of picking up a coin we’ve dropped on the ground, tying our shoelaces or writing with a pen, but all of these are learned skills which were built early on in life. Helping your children build their fine motor skills will give them more independence and perform important everyday tasks throughout their life, from writing to dressing themselves, feeding themselves and anything that involves hand movement. Here are some ideas for going about it.
Enjoy some crafts
Crafts are great for letting your little ones get creative, but it’s also fantastic practice in using their fine motor skills. Very young children can start just by scribbling on pieces of paper and finger painting, from there you can build up until they’re able to do more. Buy some child safe scissors and show them to cut up pieces of paper, have a go at tracing pictures through tracing paper or get some arts glue guns and stick small items like buttons or sequins onto paper or fabric. Over time your child will be able to be more and more precise, and this hand- eye precision and coordination can help them with other things throughout their life.
Build blocks or lego
Constructing things from any kinds of blocks is fantastic for fine motor skills. From big wooden or plastic blocks for babies, to complex Lego sets for older children, there’s something for everyone. The motion of picking up small pieces and building them into something larger again practices and finely tunes the movements of the hands, but in a really fun way. It builds concentration and cognitive reasoning, helps with grip and is also useful for teaching other skills along the way. For example, with young children using coloured blocks you can keep repeating the colours as they build.
Allow ipad/ tablet time
As a parent in this generation, it’s hard to know where to stand with technology. We grew up in a world without tablets and smartphones, whereas this is something that’s hugely prevalant in the world we’re bringing our babies into. You don’t need to assume that all technology is bad, actually, playing on child friendly games and other activities on an ipad or tablet has been shown to improve hand eye coordination and help with fine motor skills. Of course, the trick here is to make sure their time with it is limited and isn’t in place of other activities such as crafts, baking, exercise or getting outdoors. There are a ton of hand eye coordination apps and other learning apps and activities which can be great learning aides and a way to teach your child, so do look into this.
What kind of activities do you enjoy with your child to build fine motor skills?
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This is a contributed post.
