Motor Development

Motor Development

Motor Development infant skits Monster Mash

what are fine motor skills in child development?

FINE MOTOR:
Fine manipulative skills (using fingers)
Fine motor skills (using the whole hand and wrist).

Newborn has very little control. Objects will be involuntarily grasped and dropped without notice.

6 month old: palmar grasp – Uses entire hand to pick up an object.

9 month old: Pincer grasp – can grasp small objects using thumb and forefinger.

1 year old:
Can transfer objects from hand to hand
Can hold a crayon and colour horizontal strokes.

2 year old:
Can hold a crayon and colour vertical strokes
Turn the page of a book
Build a tower of six blocks.

3 year old: copy a circle and a cross – build using small blocks.

4 year old: use scissors, colour within the borders.

5 year old: write some letters
and draw a person with body parts.

School age:
Writing skills improve
Fine motor is refined
Fine motor with more focus
Building: models – lego, etc.
Sewing
Musical instrument
Painting
Typing skills
Technology: computers.

It is important to note that all children follow the same stages of development as above but the speed of development varies.

Fine manipulative skills allow children to become increasingly independent- for example, by using these movements they are able to play with toys and feed themselves.

Many play activities combine fine and gross manipulation and provide valuable practise in these. For example, dressing and undressing require fine manipulative skills to do up buttons and gross manipulative skills to stretch an arm through a jumper.
Other examples include:
- washing face
- feeding self
- drinking from a cup
- brushing teeth/hair.

Resources to provide to aid the Development of Fine Motor Skills:
Malleable materials, e.g. dough, clay
Puzzles
Board games
Threading and peg-board
Home Corner or Dramatic Play Area
Painting and Creative
A Technology Area
Using a Computer Keyboard
Books
Graphics Area
Finger Rhymes
Small Construction Apparatus
Sand and Water.

Hope this information makes it a little clearer for you.

Child Development and Chores

Chores don’t have to be dreadful.  Parents can make them fun, foster child development, and boost their child’s self esteem.  A child starts to develop their self-image very early in life.  The more you set them up for success, the higher opinion they will have of themselves.  Teaching them that responsibility can be a fun and rewarding experience is a lesson that can stick with them for the rest of their lives.

The most important thing about teaching a child how to do chores is making sure that they have fun and that the task is not too hard or frustrating.  You want them to have a lot of success so that you can lavishly praise them for completing each task.  Remember to also praise the effort, even if they are unsuccessful.  Teaching them to be proud of the work that they’re doing will help them to understand that everything isn’t always easy, but you can still try.

Work fine motor development activities into your child’s everyday life.  Fine motor skills are necessary for children to be able to write, draw, tie shoes, pull zippers, and much, much more.  Many parents forget to spend some time each day focusing on fine motor skills, mainly because we don’t want to give our small children choking hazards.  Supervise your child in accomplishing tasks with tiny objects.  It could be something as simple as helping you clean up the cereal that spilled or making sure that they manipulate smaller knobs and buttons on your activity table.  Trying to pick up tiny objects, coloring and stringing beads are all great fine motor skill activities.  Work it into the day by letting your child mark things off of a “to do” list, coloring the items you’re looking for on your grocery list, or adding ingredients to your bowl.

Gross motor skills involve the larger muscle groups.  Your child needs to develop their muscles to achieve the balance needed for walking, running, climbing and jumping.  Make sure that your child is safe at all times.  Let them help you clean up large toys or pull towels out of your laundry pile.  Build a staircase up to the bed for them to climb.  Just use pillows, blankets and other household items.  Let your child jump in your lap.  If they are capable, they can help you put away pots and pans from the dishwasher.  Figure out ways for your child to incorporate gross motor skills into their playtime and chore time.

Your child’s physical heath and development depend on you making sure that they get plenty of practice with these skills daily.  The best way to be proactive and make sure that they are practicing their skills every day is to let them help you out around the house.  You will be helping their cognitive, social and language skills by explaining to them what you are doing and why.  Spending this kind of quality time with your child will be a rewarding experience for both of you.

When you are not hands-on playing with your child, make sure that they have plenty of learning toys around.  Preschool toys that can help them include things like a mini play cube, an activity table, and various day care toys designed to foster development.  Building their physical, social and emotional skills now will benefit them for their entire lives.

About the Author

Jim Ford is the President of KinderMark, a family owned and managed business which sells waiting room toys and waiting room furniture used in doctor’s offices, hospitals, auto dealers, dentists offices and libraries. Preschool toys such as an activity table and learning toys are favorites for pediatric offices. For more information, visit www.kindermark.com .

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