Fine Motor Developmental Milestones: From Birth to Age 6

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How often do you need to use your hand in everyday life?🧐🖐🏼

Almost all the time, right?

We often take our “fine motor skills” for granted, but to achieve this level of mastery in using our hands is no easy task! 🙌🏻

How our fine motor skills are developed can have a huge impact on our performance in self-care, learning, and even work.

Follow us on this journey to learn more about fine motor development!😉

🔷 0-6 Months

  • Voluntary grasp
  • Controlled reach
  • Hold toy with both hands and play at midline

🔷 6-9 Months

  • Transfer objects from one hand to another 
  • Grasps small items (e.g. block) with first 3 fingers
  • Reach and grasp for things and attempt to put into mouth

🔷 9-12 Months

  • Grasps small items(e.g. raisin) with pincer grasp (thumb and one finger)
  • Flip the thick pages of board books one at a time.
  • Stabilize with one hand and play toys with the other

🔷 1-1.5 Years

  • Starts to scoop up food with spoon
  • Scribbles with whole arm movement
  • Able to put things into containers
  • Builds tower of 2-3 small blocks

🔷 1.5-2 Years

  • Able to connect 2 pieces of building toy together steadily 
  • Starts to self-feed with spoon
  • Turn pages 2-3 at a time

🔷 2-3 Years

  • Strings 4 large beads 
  • Holds crayon or marker with thumb and fingers (not fist)
  • Imitates vertical, horizontal, and circular strokes
  • Turns picture books one page at a time

🔷 3-4 Years

  • Builds tower of 9 small blocks
  • Thread small beads
  • Starts to color inside the lines
  • Imitates cross; Copies circle
  • Snips paper with scissors
  • Holds spoon and fork with first 3 fingers

🔷 4-5 Years

  • Cuts continuously on a line
  • Copies cross, X, and square
  • Starts using leaning chopsticks

🔷 5-6 Years

  • Colors within lines 
  • Copies triangle
  • Draws picture with basic geometric shapes (e.g. a house with square wall and triangle roof)
  • Draws people with at least 6 body parts
  • Copies numbers and letters

A lot of our fine motor development are built on our gross motor skills.
To learn more about how to establish a solid foundation for your child’s motor development, click here.

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