Developmental Delay
Concerned about atypical development of a toddler or
preschool child?
Therapy Options
Thankfully, there are many ways to deal with delays in child
development and behaviors.
These include in-home services, outpatient (you take your child
to a clinic), inpatient (following injury or surgery) and school
based services. Which type of therapy should you choose?
Visit our Therapy
Options area to learn more.
Ask a Therapist
We understand developmental milestones and the challenges of
Special Needs children. We spend a great deal of time with
families understanding the inner workings of childhood routines
and interactions. Ask us about your child today!
Ask a Therapist
Fine Motor Skills for Preschool Children
42-48 Months
Most four-year-olds can:
- Build a tower of nine small blocks
- Drive nails and pegs
- Copy a circle
- Imitate cross
- Manipulate clay material (rolls balls, snakes, cookies)
- Hold a pencil with appropriate grasp
Parenting Tips for Fine Motor Skills:
You can help with toddler developmental milestones. Suggested play to
help a toddler 42 to 48 months of age develop fine motor skills:
- Play button hide-and-seek. Provide clothes for your child featuring
one or two large buttons. As your child is trying to fasten the button,
pretend it is a hide-and-seek-game with the button hiding at first, then
'peeking out' from the hole, and finally coming all the way through.
- Cut coupons. Give your child some coupon flyers and safety scissors.
Ask your child to cut out the coupons (don't expect them to be perfect,
they might not even be usable). He or she will love the feeling that
they are helping you.
- Make magazine puzzles. Take a colorful page from a magazine and cut
it into five or six pieces. Make the pieces sturdy by gluing onto
cardboard before you cut it. Save the puzzle in an envelope to use again
and again.
- Play a game of pick-up. Give your child a pair of tweezers or small
tongs and two cups. Put some cotton balls, large pieces of macaroni, or
large beans into one of the cups and have your child pick them up with
the tweezers and put them into the other cup. Once your child can do
this, make it more exciting by having a race. Do it fast. Ready, set,
go!
- Wind a clock. If you have a wind-up clock, show your child how to
wind the alarm or turn the hands. Not only will your child get some good
fine motor practice, but it will also learn something about how clocks
work.
Fine Motor Skills by Age Group
'Fine motor' refers to the development of small muscle movements of the
hands. Fine motor skills develop as your child's whole body gains mobility,
stability, cognitive, and emotional/social development. Fine motor skills
that come to mind are shoe tying, writing, and cutting paper with scissors.
Contact Information
Find Early Intervention
Support contacts in your State. If you have a question or comment for
us, please visit our Contact page.
Early Intervention Helps with Developmental Delay
For children with Special Needs, intervention in early childhood
development means finding specific ways to help a child become as functional
as possible.
Learn more on our Parenting
Tips
page.
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