When do children master fine motor skills and what can you do to help your child promote these fine motor skills? In this article,best rc cars 2022 we will give you a few tips and game ideas and also explain to you which stages of development there are and why it is so important to promote fine motor skills.
At what age does the development of fine motor skills begin?
Strictly speaking, even the newborns can of course already make a fist or hold objects, but they can not do anything with them. However, approximately from the age of 3 months, the baby can reach for an object and then put it in the mouth.
In the next developmental step, approximately until the 7th month, your child can then already take objects in his hand and examine him by changing to the other hand or shaking. Until the 12th month of life, the child is more likely to work on his gross motor skills such as crawling, standing or walking, and sitting. Now it can also perform the so-called tweezer grip and intentionally hold objects between the thumb and index finger.
Each child develops in individual steps, but roughly speaking, by the age of 4, most fine motor skills have already been developed. Difficult things like tying shoes may not work perfectly even then.
Why is it important to promote fine motor skills?
You do your child a big favor if you support him in training his fine motor skills because he needs them at the latest at the time of school enrollment. At school, it is important that the children are sufficiently trained in fine motor skills to be able to write, draw or do handicrafts properly.
Good fine motor skills and good coordination are also important for music lessons when it comes to playing an instrument. In addition, there is a change in physical education. A child who cannot yet change clothes or tie his shoes on his own gets into trouble here or is ridiculed by the others.
However, the coordination of gestures and facial expressions is also important in language learning and in other areas. Because only the age-appropriate correct development helps the child to develop a positive self-image and not to feel excluded from the others, who are already further.
How can I promote my child’s fine motor skills?
There are many ways in which you can promote your children’s fine motor skills with the help of various exercises, games or simply through handicrafts. There are specific ideas for each age group. We introduce you to some of them that are suitable for 1- to 4-year-olds.
Tips for one-year-olds
Very important for the little ones is that they can not hurt themselves or swallow something. So you shouldn’t plan tiny toys or complicated crafts yet, but you can use them to fold paper planes or let them build towers with wooden blocks.
Very popular at this age are motor skills toys such as the wooden plug-in game by Simba. In this case, square or rectangular blocks and triangles are inserted into the openings of a box provided for this purpose.
The game with colorful modeling clay is also ideal. There are even variants that you can make yourself if you want to.
Tips for two-year-olds
Two-year-olds can already grip better and like to paint. You can make them happy if you have them painted with crayons or water and finger paints. Pay attention to harmless and water-soluble paints that can be easily removed from textiles, such as Mucki’s finger paint.
You can also encourage children in this age group to do handicrafts, for example, to paint Easter eggs or poinsettias. To be on the safe side, you should still take over the cutting out of the stars.
In addition, you can read to your child from a colorful picture book and then let the child turn the pages. This promotes concentration and gripping in equal measure.
Tips for three-year-olds
Fine motor skills are even better in three-year-olds, best rc cars crashes so they can also play with other toys than younger children. You also realize that they hold and grip objects and crayons differently and are more coordinated when playing and crafting. Nevertheless, the toys and crafts should not be too small to avoid swallowing.
At this age, the best way to promote them is to offer building blocks, plug-in boards or puzzle games. But you can also build tracks for mini cars or girls can use doll dresses with snaps or zippers for their favorite dolls.
Tips for four-year-olds
In a four-year-old child, fine motor skills are almost completely developed. One of the beneficial exercises now includes, for example, tying the shoes. Painting and handicrafts should also be on the agenda, but the children can now also cut things out themselves with children’s scissors. Now you can also add new game ideas by playing simple board or card games with the kids. These include, for example, the board game Spielhaus by Ravensburger or Mau Mau by ASS Altenburger.
