April 17, 2008

Practical Parent Advice: Baby Motor Skills

Motor skills are not exactly the same thing as hand and eye coordination but they are very closely related. The development of hand-eye coordination often parallels and/or compliments the development of gross and fine motor skills. There are some activities your baby can do to increase their coordination and develop their motor skills, such as:
Puzzles: Get your baby started on jigsaw puzzles. Start off on small puzzles of 4-5 pieces. There are baby-styled puzzles available that have little handles on them for babies to grip. As they gets adjusted to the idea, start them off on puzzles of a higher level. Don't get very complicated puzzles for them as they may get frustrated if they can't do it and this could make them develop feelings of frustration.
Plastic building blocks: These types of blocks allow babies to stack and build things that require balance and use a different set of hand/eye coordination skills and motor skills.
Baby-sized Lego Blocks: These types of blocks are the kind which require construction and which require pegs to be placed and fitted in certain places. These big blocks are excellent for developing motor skills.
Plastic “Doughnuts”: Another popular toy for encouraging the development of motor skills is the graduated soft plastic Doughnuts that fit on a plastic center pole. Your baby can stack these and will soon learn more about shapes, sizes and colors, and how they relate to one another.
Peg and hole toys: These are toys that are made of plastic and have holes fitted to plastic pegs for the baby to differentiate different shapes and also to develop motor skills and hand/eye coordination.

Here is a rough timeline for milestones you can expect your baby to cross in the first year and half:
1-3 months baby’s hand is curled into a fist that instinctively holds onto objects that are put into her palm. At two months the grasp is less reflexive and more controlled. At three months, the palm is weakly open but with little strength to grip objects.
5 months baby begins reaching for objects such as toys. Infant might briefly grasp and hold toys. Infant will enjoy sucking their own hands.
6 months baby is beginning to follow objects with their eyes. Infant is sucking their feet and grasping objects between both hands.
7 months baby is developing the ability to transfer objects from one hand to the other. Infant’s finger-thumb grip develops and they can simultaneously grip objects in both hands.
8 months baby keeps hands open and relaxed most of the time. Infant is starting to have the ability to pick up small foods, like Cheerios.
10 months baby is able to release an object voluntarily. Gives toy to caregiver when asked. Infant should be able to hold more than one object in their hand.

Always remember, every child is unique. Each will develop at their own rate. Later on, when your thoughts turn to toilet training you must not begin until your child has the necessary skills. Discover more:
Potty Training Little Boys
Tips on Potty Training
Potty Training Boys

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