Development of fine motor skills in a preschool-aged child

What are fine motor skills?

Let’s begin with a definition. Fine motor skills refer to the ability to efficiently use the hands, wrists, and fingers, which a child is not born with but acquires through learning and practice. This development occurs gradually through various activities such as drawing, painting, kneading, moulding, threading, or tearing. How do fine motor skills develop? How to recognise worrying motor symptoms in a child? We’ll explore these topics and more in today’s text. Welcome to further reading!

Why are fine motor skills important for a child’s development?

Researchers confirm that the better a child’s precise hand movements are developed, the more developed their brain is, and the better the functioning of fine finger movements, the more developed their speech is.

Fine motor skills in the preschool period

During the preschool period, one can observe children partially still performing movements not necessarily adapted to the properties and purpose of objects, such as tapping a block on the floor to create noise. However, during the child’s motor development, increasingly conscious and purposeful movements in line with the purpose and function of the object can be noticed, such as putting blocks into the appropriate hole or closing a drawer. Generally, the development of fine motor skills takes place in the preschool age, but it is worth noting the differences that arise depending on the child’s age. For example, a 5-year-old child will perform manual activities much better than a 3-year-old child. This is due, among other things, to the fact that around the age of five, there is a period of intensified processes of ossification of many points of the skeleton, including the wrist, which contributes to the overall development of the child’s strength and manual dexterity.

How do we identify fine motor skills disorders?

Disorders in fine motor skills can be noticed early in a child’s development. It’s important to observe whether the child exhibits uncontrolled hand movements and how willingly and precisely they perform daily self-care activities. Pay attention to any difficulties that may arise in activities such as drawing, moulding, cutting, tinkering, independently tying shoelaces, or fastening clothes.

Where should you start working on fine motor skills?

Start with the overall development of the child! It’s important to remember that before focusing on fine motor skills, it’s crucial first to develop gross motor skills, which involve movements of the entire body. A child who has difficulty with gross motor skills, manifested, for example, through problems with balance or catching a ball, may struggle to write or draw neatly. In summary, it’s important to remember that a child develops holistically, and support should be provided for both gross and fine motor skill development.

How to support fine motor skills at home?

The good news is that difficulties with fine motor skills can be addressed not only through specialised therapy but primarily by involving the child in daily activities at home. It’s worth noting that the development of fine motor skills is influenced by natural activities such as running, climbing, crawling, biking, independent shoe-tying, or buttoning a jacket. Additionally, valuable are all sorts of activities involving building with blocks, sculpting with various types of modelling clay, tinkering, cutting, and even playing on the playground—building sandcastles, for example! The rule of thumb is that the more manual experiences a child has, the lower the likelihood of fine motor skill disorders.

If a child is reluctant to do chores or rarely engages in activities that develop hand skills, it’s even more important to encourage them. Fingerplays or activities involving liquids are ideal methods to promote fine motor skills!

Fun activities to know about

• Finger play activities are a great way to engage and activate the fingers through bending, winding, and clapping. Create finger puppets from fabric scraps and use rhymes to illustrate their content by making corresponding puppet movements!
• Another method involves playing with Newtonian fluid. You can easily make it at home. Prepare a bowl, cornstarch, water, and food coloring (optional). Pour water into the bowl as much as the desired amount of fluid, then add cornstarch and mix the ingredients with your hands. With this mixture, you can play in a bowl, trying to create various shapes that will quickly dissolve in your hands!
• To wind down, consider a simple hand massage for the child. Researchers suggest that touching, stroking, and especially massaging a child can lower the stress hormone levels and simultaneously calm the little one. Gently touch different areas of the hand while narrating what you’re doing or reciting rhymes. This method helps create auditory-visual-tactile associations and stimulates verbal memory.

As you can see, there are numerous methods of work, or rather, play! We encourage you to explore all the possibilities and choose your child’s favourite way of engaging!