Motor Skills – Very Important and Must be controlled and developed in toddlers at right time!!

Children grow and develop fast during the toddler years, and it gets very important to understand their capabilities, capacity and strength to know if they are growing at the right pace, skills or not.

During the Toddler age, the child experiences a lot of changes, learns new things, learns new words, Learn how to speak. They also learn how to hold things, how to hold something and stand up, how to walk etc and all these activities require a very important skill called – Motor Skills.

Motor skill is a function that involves specific movement of the body’s muscles to perform certain work. This work involves walking, Writing, Eating etc. These skills can be performed well when our body’s muscles, brain and nervous system are used together and coordinated.

Motor Skills are of Two Types-

1. Gross Motor Skills

2. Fine Motor Skills

The above two are self-explanatory. Gross Motor Skills means when we involve the large muscle in the movement, muscles of the leg, arm etc that are used for Running, Walking, Standing etc while fine motor skills mean involving the smaller muscles in movement, muscles of the hand, wrist used for Writing, Holding Object, Drawing.

Motor skills are essential for a baby’s physical strength and movement.

We use motor skills on a daily basis. They help us move and do everything from Running, Walking, and lifting heavy items to typing on paper. Motor skills and motor control begin to develop after birth and will progress as children grow.

Having good motor control also helps children explore the world around them, which can help in many other areas of development.

Mastering both skills is important for children’s growth and independence.

Ways to enhance Motor Skills –

• Give them ice /salt/sand/pulses, a bowl and a serving spoon. Ask them to scoop the things and fill up the bowl. Play with Lego or do puzzles together.
• Give your child play dough/Clay/ Atta, so they can roll it into shapes and make anything that interests them.
• Finger Painting, drawing, putting glue and cutting craft materials (under elder supervision)
• Take your kid to Park, playgrounds, Malls etc and allow them to run, walk, and jump.
• Throw a ball to them, and have them throw it back Music Therapy.
• Play some music, Dance, Jump. Play With Bubbles. Limit screen time, instead inculcate habits that are healthy and involve excessive physical activity.

Few Hands-on tips are explained below (tried and tested ones) which your kid will definitely enjoy doing.

These will help them keep engaged, keep them away from gadgets and help in developing motor skills –

1. Salt Slate – Take a tray, spread a good quantity of salt on it and give it to your little one, ask them to write/draw/scribble on it. It’s fun and engaging.

2. Playing With Fingers – Take your little ones’ hand, name each of their fingers by different characters or animals and then call the names one by one and ask them to move the finger forward and backwards once they hear the names. For eg. the Elephant is the thumb, the index finger can be a duck and so on. They have to move their finger upon hearing the names.

3. Finger Tip Painting – Take a paper and some paint, let your little one use their little fingers to make a masterpiece.

4. Hop, Skip, Jump – Play music, and ask your little ones to dance, stop the music and command hop/skip/jump, the Little ones have to listen and follow the command.

5. Yoga – Take out 15 mins and practice yoga, stretching with your little ones.

6. Easy Peasy Paper Crafts – Take some papers and teach your little ones to make the easy stuff like a paper fan, Paper boats, paper houses, paper planes etc. These are really easy tasks and foldings will help in strengthening the muscles and developed mind.

7. Clap.Clap Clap – The best way to strengthen the muscles is to simply clap. Each time your kid does something clap to encourage them and tell them to clap along with you, This will help in improving the blood circulation and strengthening the muscles.

As they get older, your little one will be working their motor skills every day just by going about their daily routine and getting more involved in activities! So we can help our kids grow, get stronger and develop physically as well as mentally simply by doing little things that we do daily in our lives, try to engage your kids in them, they will feel empowered and it will motivate them to be active hence it will improve the motor skills too.

For more resources for toddlers and preschoolers visit ProEves.