6 fine motor toys your kids will love

As babies grow and start exploring more of their surroundings, they will develop various skills – including fine motor skills. These are not to be confused with gross motor skills – which, as Healthline explains, involve the whole body and include sitting, standing and walking.

Fine motor skills are more about dexterity. Here, you use smaller muscles, including those in your hands, fingers, and wrists. They play an essential role in improving your kids’ overall well-being. When they have fine motor skills, they can learn how to get dressed, write, eat, or do some daily activities that require the use and control of hand muscles. Your children will be more prepared to learn advanced skills as they grow older by developing these skills.

Generally, you can help your little ones build fine motor skills by providing them with activities at home like setting the table, holding a spoon and fork for eating, and other simple household chores. On top of those things, they can also develop the skills by playing with some toys.

Fine motor skills are more about dexterity, and use smaller muscles – including in the hands, fingers and wrists. Here are several toys your kids would enjoy using to hone their fine motor skills…

Ring stack

The Nemours KidsHealth website recommends buying one of these for babies; in other words, children in their first year of life.

At the heart of this toy is a cone fitting various sizes of coloured ring. Initially, your baby might just hold and mouth the multicoloured rings provided as part of the toy. However, through later fitting these rings onto the cone, babies practice fine motor skills.

Mechanical toy

As your child passes their first birthday and becomes a toddler, they could become increasingly aware of how objects function.

Hence, they could be increasingly drawn to mechanical toys – like pop-up toys as well as “busy” boxes where children can use knobs, buttons and levers to bring about particular effects. Such toys can assist in teaching not just fine motor skills but also cause-and-effect.

Arty toy

Your child’s fine motor skills could soon improve to a level sufficient for them to engage in various arts and crafts; for example, by holding a crayon, drawing pictures and – for the purposes of cutting and pasting – using safety scissors.

Fine motor skills would also be necessary if your little one wanted to write – such as to add a message to a birthday card they have made for you – or thread beads.

Construction set

Giving your kids a construction toy – like, yes, Lego or a similar toy from a different brand – would enable your little ones to psychologically develop themselves in various ways.

For example, in building a tower and discerning how to prevent it from toppling over, they can pick up problem-solving skills and refine their hand-eye coordination. However, you could have underestimated how much these toys would enable your kids to practice their fine motor skills, too. Because playing with construction set toys allows your children to build sets, it helps them experiment and obtain better control of the things they have in their hands, which can be a good start for honing their fine motor skills. 

So, if you think construction set toys like Lego may help them develop fine motor skills, then buying one for them may be an excellent idea. However, it’s essential to know that buying the right Lego sets may be complicated and confusing. To help you choose, you may check out some Lego reviews online to know which one suits your budget and your child’s needs.

Musical instrument

If any of your kids work hard to learn how to play a particular musical instrument, like a piano, violin or guitar, it wouldn’t just be a sign that they could potentially grow up to be a chart-topping musician (hey, here’s hoping).

It could also suggest that the child is further developing their fine motor skills. They would also need attention skills in order to play that instrument effectively.

Ride-on toy

Good Housekeeping enthuses that ride-ons can enable children to develop both gross and fine motor skills as well as refine balance and assist with coordination.

There are many different types of ride-on toy, too – including push ride-ons, pedal-powered toys and motorised toys. RiiRoo is one example of an online store that stocks various ride-on toys, making it easier for you to source one your kids will adore.

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