The manual dexterity, i.e. fine motor skills, which is one of the most significant parts of the developmental process your child will go through from the moment of birth, is crucially important. During this delicate period lasting from infancy to toddlerhood, your child’s manual development begins first with touching and then with holding and grasping, and the manual dexterity keeps on improving with the figures made out of play-dough, non-abstract pictures and drawings, and after a while, with handwork.
As your child’s manual dexterity improves, naturally his or her interaction with the objects increases as well. Children can learn by practice what to do with the objects which are suitable for their age. While playing games to improve their manual skills, they gradually acquire such skills as understanding the whole-part relationship, grouping etc. therefore; fine motor skills actually represent the first and basic relationship the children establish with other aspects of the real life, except for the family relations.
This is also the threshold of a colorful and creative world for your baby. This process, which varies from finger puppets and puzzles to the play-dough and sugar papers it can easily give whichever shape it wants and reflect its thoughts with, will be an exciting experience for your baby. Your child’s manual skills generally include holding, grasping, tearing, cutting, gluing etc. As your child grows older, she will also acquire such skills as holding and using scissors and pens, and drawing certain shapes and figures on the paper.
At this very point, you might well be asking yourself how to improve your child’s manual dexterity. Here are some Mom’s Land tips for you on this:
- When your child reaches a certain age, ensure that she acquires such skills as holding pencils, using finger paint etc. Thus, he or she takes the first step towards expressing the feelings and thoughts through colors and drawings.
- Introduce papers and paints of various colors and types to your child at an early age. The manual dexterity and the skill to illustrate her thoughts on paper your child acquires in this period will have positive effects when your child reaches the school age. During this introduction period, however, in order to protect your child ensure that the materials used are not carcinogenic.
- In the further stages of the developmental process, suggest your child that he or she creates the pictures or the play-dough figures within a storyline. This will form the basis for the future creative storytelling skill.
- Due to both its non-hazardous formula prepared specifically for children and its elasticity, the play-dough is an ideal toy for kids. While playing with your child, you can also make things such as bracelets, necklaces etc. out of the play-dough. In this way, you encourage your child to improve her manual dexterity.
- Play-dough can be shaped into triangles, squares, rectangles or circles. Thus, you can help improve your child’s both geometrical intelligence and manual dexterity.
- If your child is a little bit older, you can teach her how to use the children’s scissors and ruler. You can tell him or her to make a collage by cutting out the figures he or she has drawn using a ruler. With this collage practice, putting together the different pictures and drawings will grant your child a different visual perspective.
- Do potato printing or pasta painting with your child. These activities are both fun and help your child’s manual skills improve.
- Another method for improving your child’s manual dexterity is playing with puzzles and Lego which helps establish the concept of whole and part. These kinds of toys invest your child with the skills of holding and grasping the part and making use of it in a whole. Beware! You can only use such toys if your child is old enough not to swallow small parts.
- Which one of us did not make paper ships and set sail for imaginary adventures by floating them on the surface of water in a container? For this reason, paper folding and shaping are also other possible options you may choose to improve your child’s manual dexterity. As your child folds the paper, her manual dexterity will improve and he or she will do this more easily each time. Furthermore, the resulting figures will allow your child to have fun. You can encourage and promote your child by buying her construction papers of various colors.
- Exhibit the handwork of your child in the suitable parts of your home. Moreover, suggest her to write something made up by her on the corner of the works as a signature. This will be one of the most motivating factors for the child.
