Motor Skills Kids Need That Toys Can Teach

Toys are not just for fun; they teach our kids a variety of motor skills! Here are some skills they teach.

Besides giving toys being a love language, they can be educational. Maybe not always in the cognitive sense but also in the kinesthetic (or motor skill) sense! When kids start handling toys, they experiment. They move the joints, wiggle the arms, touch the hair, wave it around, and probably chew on it too! While we sometimes dismiss the way they play with their toys as “kids just being kids,” their method of play eventually serves as a foundation for their motor skills.

Here are some motor skills they learn when playing with these toys:

Shaping and molding

Shaping and molding are a level up from grasping and holding. While babies learn how to grip things, toddlers now learn that their hands can do more than hold things — they can manipulate them! Molding, rolling, and shaping toys like the Air Dry Clay allows them to explore how else their hands help them interact with the world. It also challenges their imagination and creativity; what other things can they make with clay?

Placing and matching

Matching is one thing but to do so precisely and accurately is a fine motor skill that kids have to practice. Usually, they learn it by using pens and markers and scribbling on paper. But that requires a little bit of wrist movement which might be too much for toddlers. With the Artherapy Diamond Painting Toy, they get to focus on coordinating their eyes and their hands on where to put the diamond.

Twisting to close or open containers

“The Right Hand Rule” — a rule in Physics that dictates how to open and close all things. Whether it’s a doorknob, the cap on a bottle, and even tightening a screw, the act of twisting things to the right or left is a motor skill that toys like the Artherapy Twist Crayons can teach. It teaches them how to angle their hands in a way to get the most power to open their crayons. Eventually, they learn how to open everything else. Including their water jugs or jars of their favorite sandwich spread.

Painting

A fine motor skill of its own category because it encourages several things. Besides color coordination, it encourages hand-to-eye coordination and also pressure control. Pressing the brush too hard will splatter the paint and making sure they’re painting the right thing (because you can’t erase paint!) can be translated to other activities like cooking and even sewing. Some toys like the DIY Mold and Paint set help kids improve on that!

Find these developmental tools at SM Stationery at SM Store!

Especially with how delicate technology is now, kids need their motor skills now and ever. The little nuts and bolts in a laptop can roll anywhere and they can’t just manhandle them! These motor skills also allow our kids to “deepen” their perception of the world. The world isn’t two-dimensional; we live in a four (or even five) dimensional world and motor skills allow kids to perceive the world in its different angles.

So before we say “no” to a toy because we don’t know how to use it, remember that our kids might figure it out faster than we did!

The best part is, all these can be found in the SM Stationery at SM Store!

More about kids and toys?

7 Fun and Safe Toys to Stimulate Your Curious Baby
Unique and Classic Baby Toys We Love
5 Unique Plush Toys to Give as Gifts to Kids