Fine motor development includes smiling, grasping, opening and closing hands, waving, and picking up an eating utensil or pencil.
As your child grows so do her fine motor skills. You will see your child learning to do more with her hands. There are several things that your child should accomplish by the age of two in this area; one of those is being able to eat using utensils.
At this time your child is exploring her ability to feed herself with the use of a spoon. She will have some spilling, may miss her mouth from time to time, and may even use her hand to scoop food into her spoon. These are all age-appropriate examples of how your child is still developing grasping and scooping, and testing wrist movements and finger strength. Many times parents do not give their toddlers a utensil because they feel like their child will be messy; however for a child to master eating with utensils, you must provide opportunities for self-feeding during daily meal times. The more practice you give the better your child will get.
There are many other ways parents can support fine motor skills. One way is by reading books together. Let your child use her pointer finger to point to pictures in the book and turn the pages. If she is not pointing to pictures, you can model first and then have her imitate you. The pincer grasp involves using the thumb and pointer finger or the thumb and middle fingers to pick up and hold.
Give your child opportunities to work on fine motor skills during routines like taking off her socks. Your toddler will be able to grasp her socks and pull them off; this skill requires hand-eye coordination. You will observe your child grasp the sock with her whole hand; this is normal as her pincer grasp is still developing. The pincer grasp involves using the thumb and pointer finger or the thumb and middle fingers to pick up and hold.
When your child reaches age two she has developed more finger strength and will start to grasp writing utensils and eating utensils in a pincer grasp. When your child develops more finger strength, she no longer needs to use her whole fist to control the movement of a writing utensil, such as a crayon, and can begin making more detailed and precise marks when drawing.
It is important to remember that fine motor skills do not develop overnight, and it is crucial that you support your child by providing fine motor skill development opportunities as part of your daily routines.
