It's natural to worry about your child's fine motor skills if you have an active child. You may wonder how you are going to get your child who can't sit still to develop the skills needed for writing. In most cases, worry is a waste of your time and energy. There's no need to torture your child with sit down time that invariably ends up with one of you in tears.
The first thing to do is relax! Anytime Mom or Dad gets uptight and antsy about something, junior is going to react. For some children it may be outright balking at doing what mommy and daddy are asking for. Others will internalize the stress and get frustrated with themselves when they can't seem to live up to expectations. Neither reaction (nor the thousands of other possible stressed out kid reactions) is conducive to fun which is essential to optimal learning.
Next, you'll want to gauge whether the problem you perceive is an actual problem, or one created from unrealistic expectations. The easiest way to do this is to compare your child's abilities to the averages expected for their age. Most health units have brochures for each age of child development. For example at age 2, you can expect your child to build a teetering tower of six blocks - so if you've been expecting cityscapes from that box of blocks, your expectations may be a little high.
If your observations detect an issue, then you'll want to schedule an appointment with your family doctor or pediatrician. Otherwise, the following activities should help you work on your child's skills in an age and developmentally appropriate manner.
Catch Crazy
While catch is often thought of for gross motor skills and eye hand co-ordination, it can also be adapted to encourage fine motor skills as well. You'll want to start with a big ball for younger children and progressively move towards smaller balls as your child's ability and confidence increases. Tactile balls can further enhance the experience.
Remember to keep games short. As with all activities with children you should stop the activity when they are still having fun. When children leave an activity on a high note they will be more likely to want to repeat it.
Playdough
There are few things on earth that can compare to a playdough experience! Whether you buy it pre-packaged or make your own, you'll want to make sure the playdough is pliable enough to play with, but not so soft that your child's fingers don't get a bit of a workout.
Most parents know their children love playdough, but hesitate to bring it out because of the mess factor. I encourage you to explore and experiment with different mess-protection strategies to find one that works in your home. One such strategy is using an old shower curtain to contain the mess. Another is to use a large Rubbermaid type container to achieve a mess free zone. Most children will easily adapt to mess reducing rules under a watchful parent's eyes.
Go to the Park
Think the park is just for gross motor skills? It simply isn't so. Climbing ladders to whoosh down the slide and streaking across the monkey bars help build finger strength too!
Outdoor time is essential for all kids, but can be especially vital for those who tend to be more active. You may even find that a good outdoor session helps translate into less fidgeting when your little one is expected to stay still. Outdoor time can almost always be counted on to lessen naptime and bedtime issues too.
If you live in a climate where the weather makes going outside treacherous, you may find this advice a bit hard to make happen in real life. You may want to fit outdoor time into your routine by heading out early in the day in a warm climate or in late afternoon in a cold one. If outdoor time is simply impossible, scour your area for indoor parks and activity centers.
Focus on Crafts
It may not turn out to be fine art, but it will work those fine motor skills. Even if your child is the active sort, there's no need to cut craft time from your routine. In fact, it may be even more important to schedule in a smidge of time for crafts into each day. The key principle to keep in mind is to focus on the process and not the product.
For maximum effectiveness, choose crafts that involve as few steps as possible when you are starting out. You can increase the complexity as your child develops. Don't be afraid to stop if your child becomes frustrated. Give yourself (and your child) permission to walk away from a project that isn't working out.
Just have fun!
Like most skills in young children, fine motor skills are developed through practice and the best way to practice is through play. Simply following your child's lead is the best way to spark ideas on ways to encourage the skills you want to develop. When focusing on fine motor skills, search for activities that build finger strength and fine tune their pincer grip. These are the two central issues in developing the control necessary for developing printing and writing proficiency down the road.
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