Fine motor skills

Posted by Talking Matters on 18 May 2013

Fine motor skills are important for success at home, preschool and school. Fine motor skills refer to the ability to do purposeful and coordinated actions using controlled movements of the small muscles in the fingers and hands. The movements also need to coordinate with the eyes, for eye hand coordination and the larger muscles of the arms and body for stability. Children develop fine motor skills over time as they practice using their hands to do tasks and activities.

Fine motor skills are important because they are required for many daily activities:

at home, such as dressing, eating and grooming,
at preschool and school such as writing, drawing, cutting
for using tools such as pencils, scissors, brushes, cutlery, laces
and for using toys to develop play,learning and imagination

Some children may show delays in developing fine motor skills. Difficulties in developing these skills can be related to:

physical disabilities
developmental delay
cognitive or intellectual delays
sensory difficulties
lack of motivation, opportunity, practice or interest in fine motor activities
reduced hand strength
reduced attention and concentration abilities
reduced problem solving abilities
difficulty controlling, planning, sequencing and coordinating movements

So how do I know if my child is developing skills as expected for their age? Children develop skills progressively but they have spurts of development and periods where skills are consolidated and not much seems to be changing. This is a normal part of development. If you are concerned that you child is not developing as expected it is a good idea to get some advice from a trained professional.

Here are some guidelines about what to expect at different ages:

At 12 months babies can:

clap hands
point with a finger
move objects from hand to hand
reach with a straight elbow
hold objects between a finger and thumb
pick up small items with the tip of a finger and thumb
put objects into a container

At 18 months babies can:

stack two or three blocks
scribble with a crayon
turn pages in a cardboard book a few at a time
hold an object in one hand and do something to it with the other
put large pegs in a pegboard
put one to two shapes in a shape sorter

At 2 years a child can:

snip with scissors
stack three or more blocks
string a few large beads
copy circles and vertical lines
turn pages one at a time

At 3 years a child can:

unscrew lids
hold crayons with fingers, not fists
cut paper in half
use one hand consistently most of the time
copy simple patterns with blocks

At 4 years a child can:

copy circles and crosses
stack five or more blocks
make balls, roll snakes and pinch shapes with playdough

At 5 to 6 years a child can:

copy a square and triangle
use a tripod grasp with thumb and finger for pencils
button and unbutton a single button
cut along a line
stack many small blocks
colour inside the lines
write their first name
be consistently left or right handed

Children develop fine motor skills through practice with a range of activities, tools and materials. Providing your child with a range of age appropriate opportunities will allow them to develop their skills. Here are some ideas to try:

provide opportunities for craft activities such as painting, cutting and pasting, drawing, collage and stickers
provide toys which require fine movements such as building and construction sets, Lego, puzzles and threading beads
provide activities which require aiming at a target, such as throwing bean bags or rolled up socks into a container, balls at a target drawn on a wall or through a hoop
provide games such as connect four, barrel of monkeys and jenga
play with tweezers, eye droppers and squeeze bottles
play with play dough, plasticine, putty and gloop
do some cooking together, cut, roll, mix, stir and pour
play with pipe cleaners, and pegs
play with sand and water, dig, pour and build

Here is a link to a site with lots of fun activities for developing fine motor skills. There are also lots of great activity ideas on the Talking Matters Pinterest page.

If you are concerned about your child's fine motor skills an occupational therapist is the person to see for advice. Occupational therapist can assess your child's skills and advise you on what to do to help your child's development. For more information about occupational therapy check Our website.

Fine motor skills

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