Motor skills refer to the baby’s ability to make motions and movements. Motor skills are classified as Fine motor skills and gross motor skills. This article will help readers to understand the types of motor skills and how and when they develop.
Fine motor skills are small movements made by a baby and involve relatively smaller muscles of your baby’s body. A baby, wrapping his fingers around the finger of a parent, a baby holding and picking up small objects, or a baby trying to move his lips and tongue to ingest food or taste something are also examples of fine motor skills.
Gross motor skills are those movements made by a baby which are larger and involve the movements of the larger muscles of your baby’s body. A baby moving his arms to reach for a toy, a baby trying to sit upright, crawl or roll all require the baby to move the larger muscles of the arms, legs, shoulders and torso and are therefore classified as gross motor skills.
Fine motor activities are those activities that aid and assist the development of fine motor skills in children and babies. These activities focus on improving hand-eye coordination by focusing on more precise and delicate movement involving the use of smaller muscle sets. One of the easiest activities is to give a child a handful of modelling clay. When a child starts playing with the modelling clay he will squeeze the dough or try to roll or shape it using his fingers and will develop fine motor skills.
Gross motor activities are those activities that aid and assist the development of gross motor skills in children and babies. These activities focus on improving the movements of larger muscle sets by engaging in activities that involve larger movements. Some activities that help develop gross motor skills include setting up an object as a target and encouraging the child to hit it by throwing softballs at it.
A few gross and fine motor activities for preschoolers are listed below:
Both gross and fine motor skills are essential for a baby’s growth and development. While motor skills develop naturally it is still advisable for parents to monitor their development. Some activities including some playtime activities and games can be used to develop both fine and gross motor skills. If certain motor skills are slow to develop some activities can speed up their development.