Motor skills are responsible for all of your child’s movements. There are two types of motor skills: The first, gross motor skills, involves the large muscles in the body required for actions such as running and jumping. The second is fine motor skills, which requires the use of precision, focus, and small movements. A child begins developing both types of motor skills early in life. Depending on his age, he can participate in many types of activities that help develop these skills.
Physical Activities
Providing activities for your child to explore her physical abilities will enhance her gross motor skills. You can hold out toys for a young baby to bat at, and providing time for your baby to lie on her stomach helps improve her arm strength and head control. As your baby grows into a toddler, preschooler, and school-age child, you can build age-appropriate obstacle courses for her to find her way through. Give her a ball to roll, toss, or kick around and allow her to play outside where she can jump, and run.
Art Activities
Art activities help to enhance fine motor skills. Give your child crayons, colored pencils, or markers and plenty of paper. He might also enjoy painting with his fingers or a brush. When he is a toddler, he may produce only scribbles. However, as he grows older and gains more practice, he will be able to draw or paint more complex images. When he is about preschool age, you can give him safety scissors to practice with. This will help him to use his finger muscles and precision skills.
Toy Activities
In addition to providing toys for a baby to reach for, you can also use nearly anything to catch her attention. Try blowing bubbles in her direction so she can try to reach for them. As she gets older, provide blocks that she can stack and toys that nest together. She will want to fill and dump containers full of toys, and may enjoy sorting or stringing beads as a preschooler. These activities with toys enhance fine motor skills as she learns to accomplish tasks, and can also encourage large motor skills as she finds more motivation to move and reach things.
Self-Care
Self-care activities, such as brushing teeth and fastening buttons, can encourage a toddler to use his fine motor skills. Since these tasks are new to him, he may be excited to do something that helps him feel older and more confident. Getting dressed can help him practice his large motor skills as well as he steps into pants and pushes his arms through his sleeves. Feeding himself also helps to develop his fine motor skills while he practices with a spoon, fork, and cup. Even a baby can practice feeding himself by eating small pieces of cereal and using his fingers to pick up food.
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