Fine motor skills are defined as the coordination of small muscle movements which usually occur in the fingers and usually in coordination with the eyes. When related to the hands (and fingers) the term dexterity is most commonly used.

Manual dexterity is the ability for the hands and fingers to make coordinated movements. Strong fine motor skills, such as those used when writing, knitting, sewing and other activities that involve the hands and fingers, rely on manual dexterity.

In young children, manual dexterity is developed normally through routine activities that also require hand-eye coordination. Some children’s fine motor skills develop faster and are stronger than those of others and some children with weak fine motor skills may struggle when learning to form letters and beginning to write.

Because there are many reasons why fine motor skills and manual dexterity may be affected, paediatric occupational therapists often work with children to improve their manual dexterity.

Thankfully, there are several ways to help your child improve manual dexterity through simple every day, hands-on activities. Exercising a child’s fingers and hands can dramatically improve their manual dexterity so do try some of the following activities:

Threading cereals that have an O-shape – Threading cereal onto yarn is an activity that requires fine motor skills and is repetitively exercising the same muscles, all the while practicing hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity.

Sewing with yarn (wool) and cardboard – This is another great activity that can improve manual dexterity and builds on fine motor skills. Children simply feed the yarn back and forth through holes which requires concentration and can also satisfy a child creatively.

Coloring pages – Coloring in – more so than ‘random’ drawing, requires children to grip crayons and stay within the lines of the image they are trying to color. This too requires concentration and leave the child with an art creation to be proud of. At sites such as Bratz Coloring Pages you’ll find the best Bratz coloring for little girls, while little boys would perhaps enjoy the Pokemon coloring sheets at Pokemon Coloring Pages.

For particularly young children who cannot color yet or play with small objects, a classic shape sorter toy is a great place to start. For older kids, small, interlocking building blocks such as those by Lego or Duplo are great ways to play while improving and strengthening their manual dexterity.

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