Children grow and develop rapidly in their first five years across the four main areas of development. These areas are motor (physical), communication and language, cognitive, and social and emotional. Early intervention services are delivered during this critical time of development.
Motor development means the physical growth and strengthening of a child’s bones, muscles and ability to move and touch his/her surroundings. A child’s motor development falls into two categories.
- Fine Motor Skills: Fine motor skills are those that involve a refined use of the small muscles which control the hand, fingers, and thumb. With the development of these skills, a child is able to complete important tasks such as writing, feeding oneself, buttoning and zippering. These abilities gradually develop through experience and exposure to a variety of toys, materials and even foods.
- Gross Motor Skills: Gross motor skills involve the larger muscles in the arms, legs, and torso. Gross motor activities include walking, running, throwing, lifting, kicking, etc. These skills also relate to body awareness, reaction speed, balance, and strength. Here are general guidelines for gross motor development for children ages 0 to 5 years.
Tips to Develop Motor Skills in Kids
Some of the tips are designed by the expert child psychologists of My Fit Brain for the help of parents to develop motor skills in kids of age 2-6 years. The tips help to motor skills for child development are listed below:
INDOOR ACTIVITIES
One of the most important ways we can help our children while playing with them at home or in a childcare/ classroom setting is through setting up simple activities that help to develop fine motor skills.
- Holding Any Toy
- Crawling
- Stalking Toys
- Throwing Toys
OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES
There are lots of ways your child can help develop those fine motor skills while enjoying the great outdoors. Learning and playing so often go hand in hand. Here are some ways to sneak in some fine motor skills practice during your outside playtime.
- Bicycle Ride
- Jumping with Support
- Frisbee Throwing
- Ball Catch & Throw
- Dancing
- Running
- Climbing
DAILY TASKS
The child develops their motor skills at different rates. Parents can even have a proper track and develop their kids of age 2-6 motor skills with some day to day activities also.
- Walking with Support of the Table
- Eating with Spoon or Fork
- Pouring Water in the Glass
- Holding the Glass
- Brushing Teeth
- Dressing Up
- Opening & Closing of Tap
- Washing Hands
- Taking Bath
SPORTS
Sports play a vital role in developing a child’s motor skills as it helps to reduce the stress level in kids also enhances their mood. It is also helpful in building healthy bone & muscles, increases fitness, improves sleep, boosts their self-esteem which will make your kid active.
Here are some sports which will help invoice balance and eye-hand coordination in your kids.
- Tennis
- Football
- Basketball
- Skating
- Horse-Riding
- Swimming
- Table Tennis
BUILDING BLOCKS
Children would extend their limbs and bodies to grasp, pick and move the blocks, the muscle of their fingers, hands, and arms. It will help them to develop gross and fine motor skills
BOARD GAMES
Board Games help your kids to learn important social skills such as waiting, turn-taking, sharing, making conversation, problem-solving and many more. It will also enhance social skills, boosting their self-esteem, and most importantly it will develop fine motor skills in kids.
Some of the board games would develop muscles of hands, arms, fingers and also eye-hand coordination in your kids.
- Ludo
- Spider-Man
- Snakes and Ladders
- Monopoly
- Pictionary
- Scrabble
STACKING TOYS
Children always love their toys. They should be taught to stack their toys back after they are finished playing. They should be made responsible for their own things. Stacking toys would be fun for them and it would help them in gripping objects. As toys are of different sizes, shapes, and colours. So they should be taught to stack toys according to different sizes and shape which would help to understand the difference between size and shape also.
DRAWING, PAINTING AND ART & CRAFT
While colouring, drawing, painting, folding paper, cutting helps to develop the grip children need to write in school. The use of crayons, paints helps the younger children as their developing fingers learn to grasp the objects.
PUZZLES
Puzzles help to develop and refine fine -motor skills in children. While making puzzles, the child grips, lifts and moves the piece of the puzzle and tries to find the correct place to fit it. It involves eye-hand coordination, movement of arms, finger, hand, gripping of objects. It will help in developing gross and fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination.
To know more about the development of your kid’s motor skills. You can get connected to your Expert Child Psychologist, helping parents and kids online as well as clinically. Just log in to www.myfitbrain.in
