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Preschool Milestones » Fine Motor 2 Years Old

Fine Motor 2 Years Old

Fine Motor Development - A Guide for Parents and Caregivers
 
Child development refers to how a child becomes able to do more complex tasks, as they age. Your child’s fine motor development is crucial. He/she needs to learn to use his/her hands well in ways that will be functional, motivating, and enjoyable.
 
Fine motor is defined as using hands to be able to eat, draw, dress, play, write, and explore their environment. These skills involve the small muscle movements of the hands and fingers in coordination with the eyes.
 
When a child has a fine motor developmental delay, he/she may not be able to do the following:
 
  • Use a spoon or fork
  • Tie shoes
  • Button clothes
  • Write his/her name
  • Draw shapes
  • Color inside the lines
  • Hold a pencil correctly at the age appropriate time
 
For more information please contact, Martha Fugate, ESS Preschool Coordinator (928) 373-3453.
 
Developmental Milestones
 
Two-Three Years Old
 
Developmental milestones are a set of functional skills that are determined by the average age at which children attain each skill. Pediatricians use milestones to help check how your child is developing.
 
It is important to keep in mind that there is a range of ages during which a child will meet a particular milestone. Here is a list of fine motor milestones that you might expect in children ages 2-3 years of age:
 
  • Strings four large beads
  • Turns single pages
  • Snips with scissors
  • Hold crayons with thumb and fingers (not fist)
  • Rolls, pounds, squeezes, and pulls clay
  • Uses one hand consistently in most activities
  • Builds tower of nine small blocks
  • Drives nail and pegs
  • Copies circular strokes
  • Screws and unscrews jar lids, nut, and bolts
  • Folds paper
  • Turns over container to pour out contents
  • Paints with some wrist action; makes dots, lines, circular strokes
 
Motor Activities
 
Fine motor activities are built on four basic, important skills. These skills include grasping objects, reaching objects, releasing objects deliberately, and turning the wrist in various directions. As parents, here are a few activities that you can do to help with your child’s fine motor development:
 
  • Molding and rolling play dough into balls using palms of hands facing each other
  • Using cookie cutters or sticks to make designs in play dough
  • Tearing newspaper into strips and then crumpling them into balls
  • Squeeze water from a sponge or washcloth
  • Rolling small balls out of tissue paper, then gluing the balls onto construction paper to form pictures or designs
  • Sing songs with hand movement / finger plays
  • Making fringes on the edge of a piece of construction paper
  • Clapping games
  • Tracing around stencils or objects
 
Encouragement
 
Encourage self-esteem and a positive self-image in your child by using positive reinforcement and frequent praise for the things that he/she has accomplished. Encourage your child to be curious, explore, and take on new challenges.
 
If your child seems to be regressing or losing skills that he or she was able to do previously, please be sure to discuss these concerns with your child’s pediatrician