Guide To Development
As we already know, children interact with their environment by moving
and touching objects within it. Using fine motor skills to manipulate
objects gives the child perceptual information necessary for the child
to efficiently make sense of their environment. Fine motor skills
involve the use of small muscles of the body that enable movement and
functions such as handwriting, grasping small objects (IE putting a coin
in a piggy bank), and fastening clothing.
Weakness in fine motor skills can affect the child’s ability to eat,
write legibly, use a computer, turn pages in a book, and participate in
self-care activities such as buttoning a shirt or zippering pants.
Fine motor skills not only involves manipulation of small muscles,
particularly of the hand, but also coordinating the action of the eyes
and hand together known as eye-hand coordination.
An upright work surface promotes fine motor skills; therefore, having
your child draw on a chalkboard, easel, or even have your child engage
in games such as light bright will be beneficial.
Fine motor skills become increasingly important when it is time for your
child to learn handwriting. A child must have good physical stability
and posture, have a good grasp, have correct hand placement with the
writing instrument, and have good paper placement.
General Development
Your child’s muscles grow from proximal to distal meaning that your
child gains stability in areas like their shoulder and shoulder blade
before they gain stability of smaller muscles such as those in the hand.
If muscles are not gained in your child’s shoulder, then you may see
difficulties with fine motor activities.
Generally stability comes from your trunk, to your shoulder, then to
your elbow, wrist and finally the hand. Hand skills are developed from
gross motor to fine motor. You can see this occurring when your child is
able to palm a toy (gross motor), but not separate there fingers as if
they are picking up a cheerio (fine motor). Generally this development
goes in the order of reach, grasp, carry, in hand, and then release.
Tummy Time
Tummy time is very important in the development of your child. Tummy
time helps your child to develop head control, spinal musculature, arm
strength, and sensory development. Tummy time enables your child to
build shoulder and arm strength, which is the foundation for crawling
and fine motor manipulation, such as handwriting that comes at a later
age.
Activities to Promote Shoulder, Arm, and Hand Strength
• Place them on their tummies on a ball and have them walk off using
their arms while you hold their feet.
• Animal walking.
• Have them lie over a ball putting weight on one arm while doing an
activity on the floor with the other.
• Roll out a big piece of paper on the floor and have them lie on their
tummies to color or paint.
• You can make your child reach up for toys.
• Have them push toy cars while on their hands and knees.
• Color, paint, magnets, stickers, shaving cream, water and paintbrushes
can be used on an easel. You can even draw a road on a piece of paper
and have them move their toy cars on the easel. If you don’t have an
easel use your refrigerator.
• You can give them a paintbrush and water and have them paint your
fence or house outside.
• Window markers.
• Tape a piece of paper under a child-size table and have them lie on
their backs to draw in this position.
Activities to Develop Wrist and Hand Control
Please keep in mind that children should be supervised at all times when
manipulating small objects.
• Cause and effect toys.
• Shape sorters.
• Blocks.
• Books.
• Toys with resistance such as pop beads, Lego's, velcro, tinker toys,
and magnets.
• Instead of handing your child toys, give them resistance and tell them
to pull the toy.
• Crayons and craft activities, the smaller the better.
• Squeezable glues and paints.
• Tearing paper and crumpling paper into small pieces.
• Manipulating small objects like glueing confetti to paper or peeling
small stickers.
• Play Doh activities with cookie cutters, rolling pins, scissors, and
plastic knifes. Roll the play Doh into balls, press it down with
fingers, pull it apart, or hide objects in it to have child open it up
to pull the object out.
• Rapper snappers.
• Coins into a slot.
• Pegs into a pegboard.
• Puzzles with small knobs.
• Any game that has small pieces and resistance.
• Finger puppets.
• Finger play (i.e. making eye glasses with fingers).
• Chalk on a chalkboard.
• Squeeze a bulb (i.e. nasal bulb) or bath toy to suck up water and
squirt. You can use air to blow cotton balls or paper.
• String beads on lace or on a pipe cleaner.
• Wikki stix.
• Color with 3/4 inch crayons, Crayola has triangular crayons that
promote finger placement.
• Play with rice, beans, sand, and water using spoons and cups.
• Hand races: See who can pick up the most objects the fastest while
keeping the objects in their hand without dropping them.
• Pick up objects with ice tongs.
• Buttons, snaps, and latches.
• Sand art.
• Games with tweezers (i.e. Bed Bugs or Operation).
• Games with small pieces (i.e. Hi Ho Cherry O, Light Bright,
screws/nuts/bolts, Ants in the Pants, Kerplunk, or pick-up sticks).
• Travel size games (i.e. Connect Four, HI –Q, or a fishing game).
• Fill balloon with flour to squeeze.
• Scissor activities (i.e. cut Play Doh, cardboard, and paper).
• Hand held vibrator to squeeze.
• Flashlights with squeeze buttons.
• Wind up toys.
• Squeeze clothes pins, you can have child pick up objects with them or
incorporate them into any game for more fun.
• Have the child try to open the clothespins from the closed side. You
can have them do repetitions and/or see how long they can hold it open.
You can make this fun by having races to see who can hold the clothespin
open the longest.
TAKEN FROM ARTICLE Tummy Time and Handwriting by Melissa Silvestro,
OTR/L)
Areas that Affect Fine Motor Skills
• Cognition
• Physical Factors
• Experience
• Behavior
• Grasp
• Hand / Finger dexterity
• Eye hand coordination
• Bilateral hand skills
Fine Motor Development Chart (Ages 0-5)
0 - 3 MONTHS
• Hands most often remain closed
• Has grasp reflex (grasps objects involuntarily if placed in palm)
2 - 4 MONTHS
• Reaches for ("swipes at") objects inaccurately
3 - 3 1/2 MONTHS
• Clasps hands together often
3 1/2 - 4 MONTHS
• Begins purposeful, visually directed reaching
3 - 7 MONTHS
• Can hold small objects in hand
4 - 8 MONTHS
• Can transfer objects from one hand to the other
• Can pick up cube/medium sized objects easily
4 - 10 MONTHS
• Develops accurate forward and side reach
5 - 9 MONTHS
• "Rakes" or "scoops" small objects to pick them up (i.e. using
fingers/palm/whole hand to scoop up Cheerios, raisins etc.
7 - 9 MONTHS
• Intentionally able to drop/release objects (get ready for the
"watch-me-drop-this-watch-mommy/daddy-pick-it-up-AGAIN" game!)
7 - 12 MONTHS
• Able to pick up small objects using thumb and finger/fingers
10 MONTHS
• Pokes and/or points with index finger
12 - 18 MONTHS
• Holds crayon with whole hand, thumb up
2 YEARS
• Holds crayon with thumb and all fingers, forearm turned so thumb is
pointing down
• Puts on shoes, socks, and shorts; takes off shoes and socks
• Can use a spoon by himself, keeping it upright
• Can draw and copy a vertical line
2 1/2 - 3 YEARS
• Strings large beads
• Snips paper with scissors
• Rolls clay/Play Doh into "snake"
• Can draw and copy a horizontal line
3 - 3 1/2 YEARS
• Able to complete simple puzzles
• Can build a tower of nine small blocks or more
• Can get himself dressed/undressed independently; only needs help with
buttons; still confuses front/back for clothes, and right/left for shoes
• Can feed himself with little or no spilling, drinks from a cup/glass
with one hand
3 1/2 - 4 YEARS
• Can pour his own drink from a pitcher if not too heavy
• Can place small pegs into small holes
• Able to string small beads
• Can hold a pencil with a "tripod grasp" (3 fingers), but moves forearm
and wrist to write/draw/color
4 - 4 1/2 YEARS
• Can use scissors to follow and cut both straight and curved lines
• Can manage buttons, zippers, and snaps completely
• Can draw and copy a cross (one vertical and one horizontal
intersecting lines)
4 1/2 - 5 YEARS
• Can hold fork using his fingers
• Can feed himself/herself soup with little or no spilling
• Folds paper in half, making sure the edges meet
• Puts a key in a lock and opens it
5 YEARS
• Can get dressed completely by himself, and usually tie shoelaces
• Cuts square, triangle, circle, and simple pictures with scissors
• Uses a knife to spread food items (jelly, peanut butter, mayo etc.),
uses a dull knife to cut soft foods
• Able to draw and copy a diagonal line
• Uses a "tripod grasp" on writing utensils (thumb & tips of 1st two
fingers) and uses fingers only (because small muscles of hand have
developed) to write/draw/color
5 1/2 - 6 YEARS
• Can build a five block "bridge"
• Sufficient bilateral hand coordination to cut out complex pictures,
accurately following the outline
• Able to copy a sequence of letters or numbers correctly
6 YEARS
• Able to complete complex puzzles
CHART ABOVE TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM SENSORY-PROCESSING-DISORDER.COM
Proficiency in fine-motor control allows the child to develop skills
that will have consequences immediately and in later life
Social Consequences. You cannot hide the way you move. Simple tasks such
as tying laces or handling any utensils or objects can cause frustration
and embarrassment. The child who has poor coordination begins to wonder
why something that is natural and taken for granted is so difficult to
perform.
Vocational Consequences. Because a number of vocations, including
dentistry, secretarial work, cabinet making, and many others, have a
large fine-motor component, the choices for the individual with
fine-motor difficulties begin to diminish.
Academic Consequences. Quick and precise handling of concrete objects in
mathematics and science becomes difficult. Precision and speed in
handwriting and drawing tasks are minimized, affecting the amount of
work being completed. When actions are not automatic, the available
working memory and attentional space in the brain is taken up with
concentrating on the movement rather than the concept being learned and
practiced.
Psychological (Emotional) Consequences. Children with poor coordination
often have unsuccessful experiences in physical activities. As a
consequence, they can develop frustration, a fear of failure, and
rejection which in turn can lead to the development of a negative
self-concept and avoidance behaviors. This can dramatically affect
classroom performance not only in the fine motor area but in other areas
as well. Research tells us that a child's attitude toward learning in a
particular area is at least as important as a child's ability in that
area.
INFORMATION ABOVE TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM
http://school.familyeducation.com/growth-and-development/body-parts/38717.html?detoured=1