Fine motor skills are impediment for every child in their growing years. Some struggle with sensory integration issues but it can be improved through therapy and aid: https://brain.com.sg/sensory-integration/
As discussed by Study.com in this article, are responsible for most of the things we do on a daily basis like scrolling down contacts in your smartphone, zipping and unzipping your trousers, knotting a tie, and so on. They put to use the small muscles of your hands, wrists, fingers, and toes
No one is born with the skills at their strongest; as we grow up we learn to use them and the motor skills get stronger and stronger. As a parent, you will no doubt want to help your child improve on his or her fine motor skill use. Read more here.
The following article by Fun Early Learning explains why fine motor skills is important for your children.
Why it is Important for your Child
From the moment you give birth to a child, they depend on their parents, especially on the mother for almost all of their life’s activities. They cannot feed on their own, they cannot wash their bodies, dress up, and even they need your help in positioning them well for sleep.
For most new mothers, it is like they cannot do all the things they are used to doing before. This is because the new baby takes 85% of their time. But gradually they look forward to regaining their freedom as soon as the baby grows older.
As soon as they start holding on to something with their small hands and crawling, their fine motor skills are put to use. Little by little they no longer depend on you for simple things like moving from one part of the home to another part of the home. At this time they can even feed themselves. Read more here.
As they get to do things for themselves, their self-confidence grows. Soon enough, they get enrolled in preschool where they put their motor skills to more use. They are taught to hold a pencil and draw shapes or paint a picture. They start writing and are taught how to write legibly. Before long, they can virtually all things themselves and are no longer dependent on their parents.
All these are possible because of the muscles and bones around the hands, wrists and fingers: the very essence of fine motor skills.
How parents can help out is discussed by Cammie Mcgovern in this article.
How parents can help
Even though you can’t affect the way your kids’ fine motor skills are developed, you sure can help them train and improve these skills. Here are some things you can do to help them improve.
- Play Puzzles Together
- Paint some diagrams together
- Take them to the beach
- Cut some papers with scissors together
- Build Lego houses together
All these activities involve the use of the hand and fingers in simple day-to-day activities. As you engage your child in these activities, they will improve in how they use their fine motor skills.
If you notice that your child, however, is not adept at using their hands and wrists as they should even after they start school, it will be nice to go visit a doctor who will, in turn, refer your child to a specialist. If you want ideas on who to see if such issues comes up, read more here.