From the first time your baby reaches for your finger to the day they proudly zip up their coat all by themselves, fine motor skills are quietly working behind the scenes.
These tiny, coordinated movements of the hands and fingers help your child do some pretty big things—like feeding themselves, playing with toys, drawing, and eventually writing.
What Are Fine Motor Skills?
Fine motor skills are those that involve a refined use of the small muscles that control the hand, fingers, thumb, and wrist. Fine motor skills are the building blocks for your child’s everyday independence and play.
With the development of these skills, children can complete important tasks such as writing, feeding themselves, buttoning, zippering, and more. These abilities gradually develop through experience and exposure to a variety of toys, materials, and even food.
Why Is Fine Motor Skill Development Important?
Little hands need to develop dexterity and strength. Strong fine motor skills help your child:
- Build confidence as they do things on their own
- Develop independence with daily routines
- Explore and learn through hands-on play
- Prepare for school, where tasks like drawing, cutting, and writing are important.
When these skills are delayed, it can impact your child’s ability to fully participate in play and learning. However, they can thrive with the right support.
How Parents Can Support the Development of Fine Motor Skills
We, as parents or caregivers, can help fine motor skill development by encouraging children to play, explore, and interact with a variety of items.
Toys, clothing fasteners, safe scissors and play dough are all tactile examples of practices that facilitate fine motor development. Even doing age-appropriate tasks in the kitchen are great ways to help build fine motor skills.
These types of “play” activities and manipulation skills will actually help prepare a child to hold and use a crayon. The ability to do so is the first step in learning to color, draw, and ultimately write. Look for opportunities throughout the day for your child to manipulate small items, push and pull with their hands and fingers, and practice small movements. Being aware of these opportunities is the first step in helping your child develop fine motor skills.
Here are some specific activities to try with your child that will help fine motor development:
Tummy Time
Tummy time is so important, even at an early age. When your baby spends time on their tummy, they’re working the muscles in their arms, shoulders, neck, and core.
Tummy time is key for later motor milestones like crawling, sitting up, and using their hands with purpose.
Start with short bursts and increase the amount of time as your baby gets stronger. You can also try using a mirror or a favorite toy to encourage movement and reaching.
Finger Feeding
Let your little one finger-feed as much as possible. Self-feeding isn’t just about mealtime—it’s also motor-skill building!
Picking up food with their fingers will help your child develop a pincer grasp (thumb and first finger together). This movement is a necessary precursor to holding crayons and other items, managing buttons and zippers, and picking up small objects.
Finger feeding can be messy, and that’s totally okay! Spread out a washable mat or high chair tray, and let your little one use mealtime as a learning time.
Play with Small Items
Toddlers should be encouraged to stack blocks, string beads, use one-piece puzzles, and play with pop beads. Children should not be left alone when playing with beads, as they may be a choking hazard.
As toddlers grow, so does their curiosity. They should be encouraged to play with blocks, puzzles, and other small items.
These small toys offer endless opportunities for fine motor development, including building coordination, precision, and strength. They also help with cognitive development, building problem-solving skills, and concentration.
Be sure to supervise play with small items and choose age-appropriate toys to avoid choking hazards.
Play with Play Dough
One of the very best ways to build hand strength is to play with playdough, play foam, or a similar non-toxic and malleable substance. Squishing, rolling, flattening, and pinching dough builds strength and endurance in the hands and fingers.
You can pique your little one’s interest and curiosity by hiding small objects in the dough, making pretend food or animals, or using stamps and cookie cutters to make fun shapes.
Finger Painting
Be sure to encourage finger painting, either with paint, pudding, or shaving cream.
Finger painting is a sensory-rich activity that promotes tactile exploration, creativity, and expression while working on those fine motor skills.
Talk with your child about the textures and colors they’re feeling. This adds a language development element, too.
Puzzles
Simple puzzles can help children learn about manipulating objects through turning, placing and flipping pieces. These actions require both visual-spatial awareness and fine motor coordination.
Peg puzzles, wooden shape puzzles, and chunky pieces with knobs are all great puzzle options for toddlers and little ones.
Watch how your child uses their hands and how they explore different angles. Problem-solving is part of the play, so it’s okay if they don’t get it right away!
Two-Handed Tasks
Any activity that encourages your child to coordinate both hands together is a great tool for development. This is called bilateral coordination and sets the foundation for other two-handed tasks like buttoning a shirt or cutting with scissors.
An example of a two-handed task is rolling a ball of play dough into a long “snake” and then cutting it with a kid-safe plastic knife.
Buttoning and Tying
Practice buttoning and unbuttoning, zippering, hooking fasteners, or tying helps to build strength and dexterity.
You can do many of these things as part of your normal daily routine, such as getting dressed or packing the diaper bag. There are also large child-appropriate practice boards, dolls, and other toys that help facilitate these activities.
The important thing is to make it fun. Turn it into a race or some sort of game to keep them engaged and interested.
Practice with Clothes Pins
Have your child hang pictures, coloring pages, or clothes on a clothesline with spring-loaded clothes pins. This activity builds pincer strength and finger control.
As your child gets older, you can use colored clothespins or write letters and numbers on them to support extra learning!
Coloring
When your child shows interest in coloring — usually around 2 1/2-3 years of age — find ways to support them in this activity. Coloring builds creativity and hand strength, endurance, and control.
Start small with crayons that fit their little hands. Let them scribble freely at first, and gradually add shapes, letters, or lines to trace as they get older.
What If My Child Is Struggling with Fine Motor Skills?
If your child is struggling with fine motor skills, early support can make a big difference. When delays are significant or impeding your child’s ability to perform age-appropriate tasks, an assessment by a pediatric occupational therapist may be necessary.
Be sure to ask your child’s teacher, daycare provider, or other caregivers if there are any areas of concern with your child’s fine motor development, and ask for suggestions if there are concerns.
As a parent, you’re empowered to advocate for your child. If you have concerns, talk to your pediatrician or contact your state’s early intervention program for children under 3.
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This article was written with support from Patty Bunce, a registered Occupational Therapist with extensive pediatric experience. Patty is certified in pediatric Neuro-Development Treatment and is also certified to give the Sensory Integration & Praxis Tests. Currently, Patty is a National Presenter for Handwriting Without Tears (HWT), is HWT Level One Certified and also helps children privately in the Washington D.C. metro area and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
