Fine motor skills are simply coordination and small muscle movements. These skills lay the foundation for buttoning, zipping, writing and cutting.
Tips to Strengthen Toddler Coordination
- Work on grasping with your baby. Begin by touching your baby’s hand. Placing one or two fingers in the middle of your baby’s hand will encourage him/her to grasp it.
- Present your baby with objects or toys to hold on to. They will quickly begin to hang on to objects as well as shake and bang them.
- Play filling and dumping games. For most kids dumping will be the easy part and filling is more challenging. Filling jars or buckets will help with eye-hand coordination.
- Play with modeling clay or play dough. You can find easy recipes to make your own. Poking, pinching and shaping the dough will help strengthen finger muscles.
- Allow your child to draw and scribble. Show him/her how to hold a crayon or writing tool with the right grasp.
- Do stacking, sorting and stringing activities. You can use blocks, sorting rings and can string beads for coordination.
- Teach your child how to button, zip and tie. You can find books that teach this concept and eventually you should teach and encourage your child to dress and undress himself/herself.