Fine motor skills
This information is to help you support your child to develop fine motor skills.
Fine motor skills are the small movements we make with our hands and fingers.
They are important because we use our hands every day for practical tasks.
What Can Be Difficult?
Some children find it hard to control and coordinate their hand movements.
This can make everyday activities more difficult, such as:
- Getting dressed - doing up buttons or using zips
- Using cutlery - holding and using a knife and fork
- Handwriting - holding a pencil properly to write
- Using both hands together - for example, holding paper with one hand while writing with the other
Activities to Help Develop Fine Motor Skills
Taking part in tasks around the house can help improve fine motor skills. This can be helping with the cooking and cleaning.
Lots of games and craft activities also help.
To Build Hand Strength
- Playing with playdough
- Picking up small items with tweezers or clothes pegs
- Building with construction toys
To Help Move Objects in the Hand
- Picking up and flipping coins
- Putting coins into a piggy bank
- Threading beads
To Help Use Individual Fingers
- Drawing with one finger in shaving foam or sand
- Singing action songs (for example Incy Wincy Spider)
- Playing with bubbles
To Improve Hand-Eye Coordination
- Construction toys for reaching and grasping
- Connect‑the‑dots activities
- Making shapes with sticks or toothpicks
- Drawing using different tools (crayons, pencils, chalks)
To Help Use Both Hands Together
- Twisting or unscrewing jars or lids
- Playing with playdough or clay (rolling and pinching)
- Drawing on a blackboard or wallpaper
- Threading activities (buttons, pasta, beads)
To Develop the Pincer Grasp
- Making jewellery with buttons, pasta, or beads
- Pinching playdough along a rolled shape
- Peeling off stickers and sticking them onto pictures
To Develop the Tripod Grasp
(Thumb, first finger and middle finger)
- Playing tweezer games
- Using clothes pegs
- Painting with chunky paintbrushes or chalks