Learning & Development: Two-year-olds: Part 7 - Helping hands

Imagine the scene. A two-year-old is sitting quietly on a mat in the book corner. The child is not looking at any books, though. Instead, they are carefully pulling at individual strands of an increasingly frayed carpet edge. Half an hour later the same child is eating their lunch and is struggling to use a spoon and a fork together. This sort of situation begs the question: what are typical fine motor skills and how can we best support their development?

A good starting point is to understand how important hand movements are in children's overall development. Being able to use their hands opens up a number of opportunities to children. Firstly, it allows them to take responsibility for their self-care, including feeding and dressing. Self-care is something that allows children to take control and is therefore important for building confidence.

The use of hands is also needed in order to learn. When two-year-olds touch and explore objects, they are learning about the shape, texture and weight of things. They are also able to learn about the properties of materials and what they might be able to do with them. This is why stretchy dough and other sensory items are so interesting for this age group.

When children are touching and exploring things, they are likely to be talking too. In the longer term, being able to make fine movements is important in numeracy and literacy. Children need to touch and move objects to develop the concept of number while fine controlled movements are the basis of handwriting.

THE ELEMENTS OF FINE MOTOR MOVEMENTS

Interestingly, there are many elements that come together to support fine motor development. One of these elements is the ability to co-ordinate the movements of the hands in response to what we can see. This is a perceptual skill and an example of when we will witness this in action might be when a two-year-old is unsuccessful at scooping up something from a plate.

When it comes to holding something, the brain also has to judge how much force is needed and this is why sometimes young children squeeze things too hard or may drop something because they have not anticipated what is required.

Finally, there is the physical development aspect itself. The bones in the hand are still developing and so too are the muscles. This is why certain movements are difficult for two-year-olds and also why we should avoid forcing them to hold pencils by using a tripod grasp until we are sure that they are ready.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS

As part of the learning process for the brain, children seem to need to repeat experiences and movements. This allows the brain to set up connections that eventually lead to a fluency and certainty of movement. Either end of this transition can be seen in everyday tasks such as doing up buttons, which requires intense concentration from young children but minimal hand-eye co-ordination from adults.

This plays out when two-year-olds play, because they will often repeat a movement over and over again. As well as the need to repeat movements, children will also need plenty of different experiences involving hand movements and, in theory, children who have had these opportunities may progress more quickly, although there will always be a wide variation between children.

WHAT TO EXPECT

While children do develop at different rates, it is worth recognising what is typical for two-year-olds. Firstly, we are likely to find that most children at two are able to place objects on top of one another. This is a test of hand-eye co-ordination and perception, which is why health visitors ask children to put cubes on top of each other. Most children of two can stack five or six cubes. The number that children can manage increases, so that at age three children can often build a tower of nine or ten.

We are also likely to find that at two years children are able to pick up objects easily and can turn pages in a book one by one. When it comes to self-care, expect to find that most two-year-olds can manage to put on their shoes - but not necessarily on the right feet - and to feed themselves using a spoon. Six months later, we may well find that they are able to use a fork with a spoon and can also pull their trousers up and down, although they are likely to struggle to get into them.

HAND PREFERENCE

Somewhere between the ages of two and two-and-a-half, children will start to show a preference for one hand when carrying out activities requiring more skill. But hand preference is not just about the use of hands. It is actually linked to how the brain functions. There is a lot of speculation as to whether handedness is hereditary or is developed during the mother's pregnancy, but at this point in time the jury is out. What is fairly certain, however, is that attempts to alter a child's natural inclination to use one hand over another can create long-lasting harmful effects because it causes the brain to work differently than intended. This is why years ago many of the left-handers who were forced to use their right hand for writing not only struggled with their handwriting but also with activities involving co-ordination and processing such as speech.

The way that the brain works also means that a strong preference for a hand is echoed in the use of the feet, with the same side being used in tasks involving climbing or kicking. While many parents today are fairly relaxed about whether their child turns out to be rightor left-handed, there remain some parents who view left-handedness negatively and may try to influence their child's handedness. It is important for these parents to know that it is not good practice to attempt to alter handedness and also to reassure them that left-handedness will not hinder their child's learning.

STRENGTHENING HAND PREFERENCE

So what about children who do not seem to be developing any handedness? While it is possible that a child may go on to to be genuinely ambidextrous - where someone has equal ability to do anything with either hand - this is actually quite rare. Instead, children who are not showing handedness may need an increase in the number of activities and opportunities for two-handed activities where each hand plays a different role. A good example of this is unscrewing a lid from a bottle where one hand is holding the bottle to act as a stabiliser while the other is unscrewing the lid.

The idea is that the hand that the child unconsciously picks as the more active hand is likely to be the preferred hand and by repeating this type of activity, the handedness can be strengthened. Interestingly, many of these 'stabilising hand/active hand' activities are associated with traditionally domestic activities such as drying up a beaker or using a dustpan and brush.

PINCER GRASP MOVEMENTS

The pincer grip is a movement that develops over time, but also with experience. This is the 'triangular' grasp where children are using their thumb and two fingers. As a writing grip, it allows for flexible movement and consistent pressure and is therefore considered desirable. It usually appears at three years, but does require a mature pincer grasp. There are a range of resources and activities that require this movement, including lacing cards, threading activities and hiding small items such as sequins in a sand tray.

STRENGTHENING MOVEMENTS

There is a range of activities that are fun for two-year-olds but also contribute to strengthening the fine motor movements. Look out for sponges and materials that provide some resistance, such as dough or squeezy balls, as these help to give children stronger grasps. Look out too for tongs and water spray bottles, although do make sure that children do not point them at each other.

Then there are some movements that help children develop hand-eye co-ordination, such as picking out straws that have been pushed into a dough ball or a tray of sand.

Children will also gain a range of movements from traditional activities such as playing with water and sand, although do think about whether the resources available allow for a full range of hand movements. Remember too, if you have provision for two- to four-year-olds, to ensure that there is sufficient developmental stretch to allow older children to increase the precision of their movements.

SENSITIVITY

Many people link messy activities with two-year-olds, yet it is worth noting that many children in this age group may actively dislike getting their hands sticky. This is because the receptors on children's hands are very sensitive. A major function of these receptors is to relay information back to the brain about what is felt, and for some children sensory activities are processed as being a 'threat'.

In the usual course of things, continued exposure to materials will 'downgrade' the threat. Unfortunately, where children associate the material with anxiety, they may choose to avoid them completely and so remain sensitive. Since being unsure about materials is fairly common, it is worth providing some wipes or placing the activity near a washbasin so the children know that they can clean their hands at any time. It is never a good idea to insist that a child puts their hands into something that they are unsure of because the heightened anxiety is likely to increase feelings of discomfort experienced by a child.

TIME AND SUPPORT

For children to practise fine motor movements, they will need to be motivated. This means making sure that activities and resources 'feel' good and also help children to feel successful. The latter is important because if activities and resources are out of reach of children's capability, there is a danger that they will not gain confidence in their abilities.

Some children, particularly during self-care tasks such as dressing, may simply give up and let adults take over. We also have to make sure that children have sufficient time, because new movements and those 'under construction' will take children a while. We can also help by making sure that resources are chosen, and in some cases positioned, to maximise children's ability to manage alone.

There is a judgement to be made about how much support to give children. Volunteering to help when children have set their mind to manage something alone is unlikely to go down well and so often it is worth taking a step back and only when a child is becoming frustrated offering to lend a little hand.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR

• Which hand does a child use to hold a spoon?

• Does the child use the same hand for other tasks, such as pouring from a small jug?

• Does the child have a preferred foot that is used to lead the way upstairs?

• Which hand-eye activities can a child manage - for example, threading a large bead with a lace?

• Are there any children who dislike certain sensory materials?

SKILLS INTO PRACTICE

• Carry out an audit of the resources available. How many different hand movements and skills do they promote?

• Are activities built to strengthen hand movements, such as washing up a beaker or using a spoon and fork at meals, built into the daily routine?

• Do adults model how to use resources - for example, how to hold a pair of scissors or use a knife and fork?

• Are activities planned to promote a pincer grip, possibly threading or picking out sequins from a pot of dried peas?

• How do you ensure that activities and resources continue to allow children to refine their hand skills?

• What range of tools is on offer to allow children to increase their skills?

• Is sufficient time given so as to allow children to complete self-care skills?