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Have you ever felt frustrated at your kid’s apparent inability to pour some juice without spilling or taking forever to tie their laces? Those tasks that seem so natural to us are only possible because we have spent all of our lives developing and refining a skill set that is essential to anything and everything in our daily lives: fine motor skills.
In the daily hustle as parents, it’s easy to forget that our kids weren’t born with all the skills we wish they had already mastered. And the only way for them to master them one day is by practicing and having a lot of trials and errors. And the earlier we provide opportunities for them to practice, the better!
That being said, fine motor skills might be one of the easiest skill sets to help your kids develop from an early age.
Simple activities and being included in your family’s daily tasks can go a long way in boosting your toddler’s fine motor skills.
In this blog post, I’ll cover 7 VERY simple activities to practice and develop fine motor skills, for kids 1 to 3 years of age.
But… first and foremost…
What Are Fine Motor Skills?
Fine motor skills are the precise, controlled movement of small muscles, mostly involving the hands and fingers, but also including the coordination of smaller muscle groups in areas like the face and feet.
We’ll explore ways to develop the coordination and control of all of these small muscles down below.
Fine motor skills are essential to nearly everything do we in our daily lives: writing, buttoning a shirt, tying laces, opening bottles, manipulating small objects, and so on.
These skills, like any other, have to be practiced daily in order to be improved and developed over time.
That means that the sooner you stimulate and provide opportunities for your toddler to practice these abilities, the sooner he/she will become good at them.
HOWEVER, let’s not forget that a toddler is still a toddler and a child is still a child. Meaning that even if you encourage and provide opportunities for them to develop these (and other) skills, they will still make mistakes, and they will still struggle and need help sometimes.
That is not only okay but expected.
The development of a new skill is not a linear process, and kids still have a long way to go.
That being said, let’s get into the simple activities we can implement to help our toddlers practice and improve their fine motor skills.
Read more: How to Start a Quick and Easy Toy Rotation System.
7 Simple Activities to Enhance Your Toddler’s Fine Motor Skills
1. Pouring water (and other things)
I have never met a toddler who didn’t love playing with water. This activity is super simple, yet amazing for developing fine motor skills. It also can keep a toddler happy and busy for a VERY long time, which is always a plus 🙂
All you need is a medium-sized bowl and some plastic cups or other recipients. You can make it even more fun and engaging by adding kitchen toys, trucks, and fun-shape recipients.
If you have access, you should definitely try this activity with sand or soil. These resources are so useful for kids to practice handling heavier things and using utensils as well.
Provide them with a medium bowl of sand/soil and some recipients and utensils and let them do the rest.
Definitely try this on your backyard or balcony as it is sure to make a big mess!
As your toddler practices and develops these skills, these activities can and should be extended to other liquids and actual day-to-day tasks, such as pouring milk into a cup, pouring a smoothie into a bowl, pouring a cake batter into a mold, etc.
Yes, it will be messy at first, but as your kids practice more and more, there will be less mess and so much active participation.
2. Playing with stickers
Peeling and placing stickers is a super simple activity, but it is amazing for developing pincer grasp (using thumb and index finger) and hand-eye coordination.
Velcro also works really well for this, if you have any available.
3. Drawing and painting
I have a strong feeling that you are already doing a lot of drawing and painting with your toddler, but in case you are not, definitely make these activities a part of your weekly routine.
Drawing, painting, and other arts and crafts are great for refining fine motor skills and fostering creativity.
Your kid can draw/paint freely, but you can also ask them to trace simple forms, such as circles, rectangles, and stars.
Start with their fingers, then, as they get the hang of it, introduce objects, such as pencils, crayons, and paintbrushes… it gets trickier when having to use an object.
4. Wooden puzzles
Puzzles are much more complex for toddlers than you would probably imagine. A lot of different skills can benefit from playing with puzzles, fine motor skills being one of them.
Make sure the puzzle you pick is very simple and has very few pieces to get your toddler started.
I strongly recommend starting with wooden puzzles instead of paper puzzles, as they are way too delicate and harder to handle.
Let them explore and eventually figure it out. The simple act of handling the pieces promotes fine motor coordination.
5. Peeling bananas and eggshells
When I said “simple activities”, I meant it. Peeling bananas, eggshells (when they are a bit older), and possibly other fruits and veggies, is also a great way to develop that pincer grasp and hand-eye coordination.
As a plus, being involved in cooking and food preparation is also really good for the overall development of a healthy relationship with food.
6. Playdough and clay
Playing with playdough or modeling clay allows your child to squeeze, roll, pinch, and shape the material, which strengthens hand muscles and improves finger control.
If your toddler is still in the mouthing phase, make sure to pick a taste-safe or edible material. Check out this simple Edible Playdough Recipe.
7. Picking up small objects
This can be as simple or as complex as you’d like.
For instance, you can invite your toddler to go on a walk at the park with you and have them carry a little basket to pick up specific things, such as red leaves, rocks, green leaves, etc.
You can even reuse the material for another activity later, such as counting rocks, or “cooking” leaves… or just return the resources to nature.
Bonus: let your toddler participate
Including your toddler in your family’s daily life and age-appropriate “chores”, such as loading the washing machine, sorting out laundry, folding clothes, baking, and taking the trash out, is not only a great way to promote fine motor skills development, but overall healthy development.
Kids want to be included, they want to feel like they belong, like they are capable.
That’s the best way for your kids to thrive!
Developing a skill takes time, countless trials, and inevitable errors. Don’t expect perfection or that your child won’t ever make mistakes or need your help again, and embrace the messy road that leads to more independent, confident, skilled, and resilient kids.
That’s the way to help your toddler boost his/her fine motor skills.
Check out my other blog posts!
