What is fine motor development in children?

Fine motor skills refer to all the small movements that a child can perform deliberately and in a coordinated way with hands, feet, and face. These are primarily very fine and precise movements, which require dexterity, concentration and precise control of individual muscles. Examples of fine motor skills are:

• Painting and writing,

• making faces

• or eating with cutlery.

The Gross motor skills on the other hand encompass the somewhat larger movements that the child performs with the whole body, such as

• crawling,

• balancing,

• climbing

• or hopping.

Fine motor skills are not present in children from the very beginning, but develop over time. Already in the first 24 months of life there are many advances here – in each child at their own individual pace. You as parents can also contribute and promote your baby's motor development with playful exercises.

Why are fine motor skills so important for children?

Starting with targeted grasping and holding fine motor skills are an essential foundation for many activities and movements, that children and adults need in everyday life. Through fine motor skills, your child gets a sense of their own body and learns to perform even the most delicate movements. This also benefits further development.

Well-developed fine motor skills also help, for example, with the language development or with facial expressions and gestures. It also promotes the your child's independence, so that, for example, it can dress and undress itself or tie its shoes. This strengthens self-confidence and leads to a more positive self-image.

By the time school starts, an age-appropriate fine motor skill level is important, when it comes to writing, drawing and crafts . If the fine motor movements are trained and promoted early , the child has no difficulty holding a pen and writing. This makes it feel much more comfortable among peers at school.

Development of fine motor skills by age

As with walking- or learning to speak there is also no timetable for the development of fine motor skills. Every child has their own pace and that's also a good thing. But there are indicators and average ages, in which most children can perform certain fine motor movements. These can be used as a guide.

But don't worry if your child lags a bit behind this "schedule" — some children simply take longer than others. If you want to support your child playfully in their fine motor development , you should make sure that the games are age-appropriate so as not to overwhelm your child. Only then will your child enjoy the games.

When should my child be able to do what and how can I support them?

Newborns

In newborns, the grasp reflex is not yet present. The hands can only be brought to the mouth involuntarily and are usually splayed. Your baby must first settle into the world. Fine motor skills cannot and should not be encouraged yet.

3 months:

At the age of three months, babies can control their hands a little. Individual fingers are put into the mouth and can be moved individually. A grasping ball is an exciting way to practice grasping.

4 months:

Babies can now intentionally reach for objects. They explore these with their hands but also with their mouth. Eye and hand now work together. In the following months, the movements become increasingly purposeful.

6 months:

Babies now use the flat pincer grip to pick up even smaller objects.teething rings in various shapes and colors not only train targeted grasping, but also help with teething.

9 months:

The index finger can be used independently to point at things.

12 months:

At about one year, small objects can be held and examined using the pincer grip. With a fist grip the baby tries to eat with a spoon

18 months:

Fine motor skills are now developed to the extent that toddlers can unwrap candies themselves . When playing with mud, the little ones train their finger muscles.

2 years:

slowly but surely it becomes clear that the child prefers one hand. With a fishing game you can practice slow and precise movements be practiced.

3 years:

When using scissors, children learn to use their strength carefully. When crafting, they can let their imagination run free.

4 years:

Some children still have difficulty concentrating on several things at the same time. In the egg-and-spoon race in the garden they must concentrate on walking straight while at the same time not dropping the egg from the spoon — a great game for the children's birthday party!

5 years:

Most children can now perform various movements with both hands. When painting, representational objects are also painted, because children can better judge their strength and spatial imagination is further developed.

6 years:

By six years old, fine motor skills are well developed. The child can now gauge its strength and perform precise movements. While whittling in nature it can further develop its fine motor skills and be creative.

How to encourage your child's fine motor skills: Tips & play ideas

In the development of fine motor skills, each child their own pace of learning, which you cannot influence. Try to stay calm when your child needs a little more time, to learn something new.

By the way: Boys often lag a bit behind girls in fine motor development. So if the same‑age girl in the neighborhood is already a bit further along than your son, that's completely fine.

Grasping: At the meals it's very easy to encourage the child to reach for things: With small pieces of finger food they can choose for themselves what they want to eat next and deliberately reach for it. Putting food onto the spoon is another step in motor development. Besides that, toddlers can easily be encouraged to practice their fine motor skills. A colorful grasping toy placed out of the child's reach stimulates the child to reach.

Painting: Free painting, scribbling or even coloring in coloring books promotes fine motor skills and trains the precise and coordinated use of different writing tools. A great alternative to classic painting is painting with the feet. That trains the fine motor skills of the toes - and adults enjoy it too!

Threading: The child should thread small beads onto a string. The threading requires patience and dexterity. At the same time, pretty necklaces or bracelets are created that your child can wear later or proudly give to you. Feel free to encourage your child to, while threading create their own little piece of art, which you can show off as jewelry.

Puzzles: A puzzle promotes the hand-eye coordination and your child's concentration. When a large complete picture emerges at the end, your child will be very proud and satisfied. As a family you can also take on a larger puzzle together.

Stacking building blocks: Building blocks are already very popular with toddlers – here the blocks are busily stacked into structures that may topple over more often at first. With a bit of practice the child quickly makes progress. The stacking of building blocks also trains hand-eye coordination and your child gets a feel for the right amount of force to use.

Motor skills toys: With games and stimuli you provide your child the opportunity to try out and train their fine motor skills in a playful way. Make sure the toys are age-appropriate. At HABA you can find motor skills and educational toys for babies as well as insertion games, which promote creativity and fine motor skills.

Finger games: Finger games are a lovely combination of movement and rhymes in simple language. They are also easy for small children to understand and encourage enthusiastic participation.

Nature: Outdoors, fine motor skills can be developed in many different ways. In nature, children learn, how to grasp objects with their hands, how to use their fingers and how much force they need for different activities.

Image credits

Dad talks to his son and cuddles with him © dusanpetkovic1 - Adobestock

Baby sits in a high chair and eats porridge from a bowl with a spoon © Tomsickova - Adobestock

Toddler paints an egg with watercolors for Easter © Julia Beatty - Adobestock