Fine Motor Skills
Achieved when children learn to use their smaller muscles, like muscles in the hands, fingers, and wrists. Children use their fine motor skills when writing, holding small items, buttoning clothing, turning pages, eating, cutting with scissors, and using computer keyboards.
Fine motor skills involve the use of the smaller muscle of the hands, commonly in activities like using pencils, scissors, construction with legos, doing up buttons and opening lunch boxes. Fine motor skill efficiency significantly influences the quality of the task outcome as well as the speed of task performance. Efficient fine motor skills require a number of independent skills to work together to appropriately manipulate the object or perform the task.
What skills do ‘fine motor skills’ include?
Why are fine motor skills important?
Fine motor skills are essential for performing everyday skills as well academic skills. Without the ability to complete these every day tasks, a child’s self esteem can suffer, their academic performance is compromised and their play options are very limited. They are also unable to develop appropriate independence in ‘life’ skills, such as getting dressed and feeding themselves which in turn has social implications not only within the family but also within peer relationships.
How can you tell if a child has fine motor skill difficulties at a glance?
Kids in Stride is therapy designed specifically for kids with developmental challenges in their movement, play, speech, language, learning and behavior. We are a privately owned practice in two locations Murphy 828-516-1700 & Franklin 828-634-7800, NC. Choosing Kids in Stride as your Therapy provider allows you to receive Occupational, Physical and Speech Therapy on site, ensuring that you experience a truly integrated multi-disciplinary service. Our Pediatric Therapy is designed to deliver functional skills to increase independence. Our therapy programs are based around upper extremity functioning, fine and visual motor skills, and sensory motor integration.
Visit us at https://kidsinstride.weebly.com
Fine motor skills involve the use of the smaller muscle of the hands, commonly in activities like using pencils, scissors, construction with legos, doing up buttons and opening lunch boxes. Fine motor skill efficiency significantly influences the quality of the task outcome as well as the speed of task performance. Efficient fine motor skills require a number of independent skills to work together to appropriately manipulate the object or perform the task.
What skills do ‘fine motor skills’ include?
- Academics skills including
- Pencil skills such as scribbling, coloring, drawing, writing.
- Scissors skills such as cutting.
- Play
- Construction skills using legos, puzzles, train tracks
- Doll dressing and manipulation
- IT use such as the mouse and stylus manipulation
- Self care including
- dressing – tying shoelaces, doling up sandals, zips, buttons, belts
- eating – using cutlery, opening lunch boxes and food bags
- hygiene – cleaning teeth, brushing hair, toileting.
Why are fine motor skills important?
Fine motor skills are essential for performing everyday skills as well academic skills. Without the ability to complete these every day tasks, a child’s self esteem can suffer, their academic performance is compromised and their play options are very limited. They are also unable to develop appropriate independence in ‘life’ skills, such as getting dressed and feeding themselves which in turn has social implications not only within the family but also within peer relationships.
How can you tell if a child has fine motor skill difficulties at a glance?
- Avoidance or disinterest of fiddly finger skills
- Preferring physical activity, again to avoid sit down tasks.
- Interest in ‘passive’ activities such as IT such as watching TV an IPAD that don’t require Fine Motor skills.
- No interest in pencil or scissors skills
- Being ‘bossy’ in play and and asking others to “draw a cat for me”
- Not persisting in the face of a challenge such as asking parents to fix a problem without physically trying to fix it themselves
- Waiting for parents to dress them or clean their teeth rather than trying themselves
- Refusal to use stylus with the IPAD
Kids in Stride is therapy designed specifically for kids with developmental challenges in their movement, play, speech, language, learning and behavior. We are a privately owned practice in two locations Murphy 828-516-1700 & Franklin 828-634-7800, NC. Choosing Kids in Stride as your Therapy provider allows you to receive Occupational, Physical and Speech Therapy on site, ensuring that you experience a truly integrated multi-disciplinary service. Our Pediatric Therapy is designed to deliver functional skills to increase independence. Our therapy programs are based around upper extremity functioning, fine and visual motor skills, and sensory motor integration.
Visit us at https://kidsinstride.weebly.com