Developing Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills refer to the control over the muscles that regulate the small or fine movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.

Parents should make provision for the fine motor development of their child, as fine motor skills are important in many school activities as well as in life in general. Weaknesses in fine motor skills can affect a child's ability to eat, write legibly, use a computer, turn pages in a book, and perform personal care tasks such as dressing and grooming.

Some suitable activities for developing fine motor skills are the following:

• Throwing and catching games with a ball or beanbag.

• Coloring and drawing.

• Cutting with scissors.

• Drawing simple forms which the child must then copy.

• Playing with clay.

• Crumpling a sheet of soft paper into a tight ball with one hand only.

It should be noted, however, that school readiness encompasses much more than developing fine motor skills.