She was bent over her wriggling two-year-old while he struggled to zip up his jacket. While it would have been much quicker - and easier - to do it for him, this mom was patiently waiting. He was determined to do it alone, and she was smart enough to let him try. Some day soon, he'd be able to zip it on his own. One way or the other, he was one step closer today than if Mom had done it for him.
So much of what we do in life involves those fine motor-skills associated with hands and fingers. As you help your toddler develop these muscles, you are not only preparing him or her for school, you're giving your child a head start on life itself. Independent learning breeds confidence, and confidence breeds a healthy self image. What better way to prepare your child for success as an adult?
Listed below are just a few of the many games and activities that help develop the smaller muscles found in the hands and fingers. Always remember to interact with your child in a pressure-free environment. If your toddler attempts an activity and becomes frustrated due to failure, it's time to put it away and take a well-deserved break.
Draw and Color It
What is it about colorful pencils, crayons, paint and markers? They have a magnetic appeal for youngsters, and we should take advantage of that. Simple art starts with straight lines, which are fairly easy for young hands to manage. Then, with a few connecting lines, they become houses, fences and trees. Later, circular movements become faces, balls, wheels, etc. While finger paints are messy, there's great joy in slathering vivid colors on white paper! Handling all these "art tools" helps develop little fingers for other skills which come later, like writing his or her name.
Cut and Paste It
Demonstrate how scissors work and explain a few simple safety rules. Lay out several colorful pieces of paper that you've cut into squares, circles, triangles and rectangles. If your child is interested, let him or her try handling the scissors while you are close by. Now get out the glue and design a colorful collage or a house with cars, trees and people. Working with glue sticks and/or paste is a bit messy, but it also works those fine muscles in the fingers and hands.
Stack It, Build It
Those muscles are also developed as your children connect or stack plastic and wooden blocks. Building a log cabin or house from toy logs develops creative design. Important hand-eye coordination is being developed, but your child thinks it's all just for fun! Let your child build a tower by stacking blocks on top of one another. How high can they go before it falls? Again, eye-hand coordination is at work here, along with developing muscles in the fingers and hand.
Handle and Observe It
Place various items of interest on a table top: pretty post cards, shiny pennies, cotton balls, large buttons, sea shells, jumbo paper clips, etc. Encourage your child to handle them as you point out the differences in smooth and rough items, shiny and dull, heavy and lightweight. Picking these items up will work the delicate finger muscles in your child's hands. At the same time, he or she is having fun "handling and observing" things that might otherwise be off limits.
Button, Snap and Hook It
Getting dressed requires highly-developed muscle coordination in the fingers, so be very patient with your toddler. You can buy (or make) an activity board or toy that incorporates these skills. Just be sure this is seen as fun, not as a frustrating experience. If your toddler can't manage these skills, don't push. There will be plenty of time later to pull this activity out of the toy closet.
Measure and Pour It
Take a deep breath, then ask your toddler to join you in the kitchen. With just a few simple tools, you've got the makings for hands-on learning and development. Set out cereal bowls of rice, beans and legumes, then give your child something to scoop, measure and pour them into a big mixing bowl. Stir with a big wooden spoon while discussing various textures and shapes. Transfer the bowl to the table, and help your toddler design a collage with glue and various colors of legumes.
Try to Peg It
Have you ever thought about the skill required to poke those colorful pegs into such tiny holes? Sure, it's easy for you, because you've had years of practice. For your young toddler, however, it takes time to develop a steady hand and tremendous coordination. Something akin to you doing brain surgery without any training! Thankfully, no brain surgery is required to work with a peg board, and it's an excellent way to develop the fine motor skills.
These hands-on activities are inexpensive ways to serve up some fun. The next time you hold your child's small hand inside your larger one, make a mental note. That tiny hand has a lot of developing to do in just a few short years, and you can help. With a little time and a lot of encouragement from you, that little hand - and its mate - will be ready to tackle just about anything that comes their way.