Difficulties With Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are the coordination of the muscles to perform tasks like drawing circles with a pencil and stacking small blocks. The development of fine motor skills is the refinement of gross motor skills, like waving your arm to say hello. Young children learn all of the skills through normal development of their muscles and coordination. If your child has difficulties with fine motor skills, he may have some delayed development.

Fine Motor Skill Milestones

• The dexterity in your hands and fingers are fine motor skills, which are learned over time. Around the age of 2 children should be able to stack five or six blocks on top of one another. A 2-year-old should be able to hold an eating utensil. At 3 she will string large beads and undress herself. By the age of 4 she will draw simple shapes with a crayon and cut with safety scissors. Around the age of 5 your child will draw a person and write the alphabet. By 6 she should be able to write her own name and use a blunt knife to cut soft foods. Each of these steps in learning fine motor skills is called a developmental milestone.

Delayed Development

• Developmental delay is when your child does not reach a developmental milestone at an expected time. A temporary delay in fine motor skills may be normal, and you should speak to your pediatrician about a true developmental delay. This delay may be caused by genetic reasons, such as Down syndrome, a premature birth, sensory processing disorders or an infection. The first three years of your child's life are important developmental years, and early intervention of delayed development increases his chances of better progress.

Activities

• Develop your child's fine motor skills to prevent any lagging in developmental milestones. Rolling play dough into small balls and using pegs to draw in the dough help with fine motor skills. Scrunching up paper strengthens hands. Spraying plants with a bottle sprayer is a good activity, and picking up small objects with safe large tweezers is another good fine motor skill developmental activity. Offer your child safety scissors, paper and crayons to use, and give your child stackable blocks to play with.

Considerations

• Many children have temporary delays in fine motor skills, and developmental milestones are used as a guide for parents. Children do develop in their own time, and you do not need to fret about your child's fine motor skills. However, you do need to prepare your child with the right tools and activities for proper physical development. Paper, crayons and pencils are basic tools that your child needs to strengthen his fine motor skills for future writing. Guide your child into brushing his teeth himself and tying his own shoelaces. Simple everyday activities should improve most children who have difficulties with fine motor skills.