Understanding fine motor development

As a teacher, I have parents regularly asking why their preschool aged child isn’t able to write yet. To comprehend the reasoning behind this, it is important to understand both a child's physical development and the stages they progress through.

What are fine motor skills

Fine motor skills refers to the skills that are developed when children learn to use their smaller muscles in the hands, fingers, and wrists. These motor skills develop after children's gross motor skills, which control actions like throwing and kicking balls, as well as walking and jumping.

Here is an X-ray of a typical 7 year old hand (above) and a preschool child’s hand (below).

Between birth - school age, children's hands are still developing and are not fully formed. As you can see in the x-ray above, young children have significant separation between their bones with large spaces between the phalanges in their fingers (finger bones). As a result, young children are unable to achieve refined motor tasks successfully until their hands are further developed.

How do i support fine motor development

So what should I be doing to support my child's fine motor development? PLAY!

Some ways to develop these skills are having children engage in the following activities:

finger painting
colouring/ drawing
cutting
gluing
puzzles
playdough
digging
finger painting
building blocks
science experiments
threading
using large tweesers or tongs

These activities focus on smaller muscle groups. Using the same muscles can help children develop muscle memory, which is when repetition of one action allows that action to be performed almost automatically without much effort.

Fine motor skills between 2-5 years

Although all children progress through stages of fine motor development at their own pace, there are a number of identified skills that children develop between 2-5 years.

Age 2

imitates a train of 2-4 blocks
Hand preference more obvious
holds a thick crayon in their palm (palmer grasp)
imitates a horizontal or vertical line
can complete a chunky 3 piece puzzle
undresses somewhat independently
unbuttons large buttons
turns single pages
opens a door
threads shoelace through large holes

Age 3

Makes a tower up to 9 blocks
grabs a marker with thumb, index finger and middle fingers (pincer grasp)
copies circle
colours picture mostly within the lines
draws simple pictures with recognisable objects or features
completes 4-5 piece puzzles
dresses self (basic clothing)
cuts paper in half
string smaller beads
engages in finger play songs
loves sensory, tactile play

Age 4

towers 10 blocks
builds various block structures
holds a pencil with great refinements (tri-grip)
colours within the lines
Can draw the following symbols X / \ | - O (needed for corrrect letter formation)
Draws a reconisable person
completes large puzzles
can fasten buttons, snaps and zippers
cuts in a basic circle
pours liquid from a jug
threads smaller beads with a plastic needle
traces own hand

Age 5

towers 13 or more blocks
copies a triange and asterix
wants to write
writes own name
writes some words and numbers to 5
writes large letters
imitates blocks designs
comepletes puzzles with smaller pieces
dresses self
cuts well with scissors
manipulates paper to cut out shapes

How can you tell if a child has fine motor skill difficulties at a glance?

Avoidance and/disinterest of fiddly finger skills (avoiding sit down tasks)
No interest in pencil or scissors skills
Asking others to draw or write for them
Lack of persistance in the face of a challenge
Waiting for parents to dress them or clean their teeth rather than trying themselves.