![]() Hold and manipulate toys (see Hand and Finger Strength).Lie on belly over pillows or a bolster and hold self up on hands while playing a game, completing a puzzle, etc.Propel scooter board with hands while lying on belly.Crawl through tunnels or obstacle courses.Practice yoga poses such as “plank” or “table”.Animal walks such as crab walking or bear walking.Any activity in which a child applies weight through the hands such as:.(People with poorly developed hand arches-as well as decreased tone and muscle strength in the hand-have a palm that looks flat when at rest.) Crawling helps to develop these arches and is one of the reasons crawling is an important stage in a toddler’s development. These arches create the shallow “cup” shape our palms resemble when at rest. There are several arches in the palms of the hands that allow us to pick up and manipulate items of different sizes and shapes. Play with squeeze toys such as foam or rubber balls.Crumple small pieces of tissue paper with fingertips and glue to make artwork.Spray water from a spray bottle or other squirt toys.Clothespin games (use the pad of thumb and index finger to squeeze open).Play with construction toys: Legos, Zoobs, Bristle Blocks, Pop Beads.Make art using eye droppers to place various colors of water on paper.Pick up small items with tongs, tweezers, or strawberry hullers.Manipulate Play-Doh or Therapy Putty (hide small items like coins or beads in the putty and have your child search for the “treasure ” form into “pancakes” and “logs ” stretch into long “snakes” and then cut into strips).They need help cutting food, pulling the Velcro open on shoes, snapping pants, and opening lids on Play-Doh or other containers well past when their peers require help. For children, this means being able to hold a pencil correctly, play with and manipulate toys, hang on monkey bars, climb rock walls, snap their pants, and cut their food.Ĭhildren with decreased hand and finger strength will have difficulty holding a pencil with any space between the pencil and their fingers that is they will hold it too tightly. Hand and finger strength allows us to grasp and hold items securely. Pull a laundry basket filled with toys across a room using rope (tie rope to the handle of the laundry basket).Army Crawl under tables, chairs, benches, etc.Play games such as catch in “tall kneel” (not sitting on feet) or “half kneel” (one foot on the ground).Play games (or watch TV) while lying on belly, propped up on elbows.Animal walks: Crab walking, Bear Walking, Caterpillar Walking.Instead, they need to lean their arms or hands against a table or floor in order to gain stability when performing these tasks. In addition, children with poor upper body strength-and thus poor shoulder stability-have difficulty performing fine motor tasks in space, such as turning pages in a book, stringing beads, or putting together linking toys. Signs of a weak core include slumped sitting posture with rounded shoulders and back, fatiguing quickly when working at a table, holding head in hands when sitting at the table, inability to sit up from the floor without rolling over or using arms, and a decreased ability to perform the exercises below. If you lacked this stability, your trunk and shoulders would be constantly making subtle postural adjustments just to keep you upright in the chair, and you would never be able to get the thread through the needle. If you mimic this movement, you will notice how stable your trunk and shoulders need to be in order to allow for the precise movement of your forearms and fingers. For example, imagine sitting in a chair and attempting to thread a needle in the air in front of you, which takes precise finger movement. Without this base of support, the smaller muscles in our arms and hands can’t move with precision during fine motor activities. ![]() Strong shoulder muscles provide stability of the shoulder girdle. STRENGTHĪ strong core provides stability of the trunk and pelvis, which is necessary to sit with good posture and balance (called postural control). Below is an explanation of each of these essential skills as well as descriptions of exercises and activities you can do at home with your child to strengthen any skills that are underdeveloped. If your child’s fine motor skills are below age-level expectations, it’s a safe bet that at least one of these foundational skills are underdeveloped as well. Just as support beams are necessary to hold up a ceiling, these “building blocks” support higher-level hand skills. As discussed in our previous blog, “Handwriting and Your Child,” strong handwriting-and fine motor skills in general-requires sufficient development of certain foundational skills: strength, hand arches, finger dexterity, and eye-hand coordination.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |