Fine Motor Skills

While I understand your concerns for wanting to keep your son in par with his peers, I don't think it is anything to worry about at this point in terms of your son's development. And if he doesn't master it by the time he starts school next year he will not be beyond help. Many of us moms 40 and older didn't really learn these skills until kindergarten. We weren't required to know as much before starting school as kids are now.

Aside from practicing writing what about having him do activities to strengthen his muscles and practice dexterity: molding clay, lacing cards, stringing beads, finger painting, gluing dried beans/macaroni/cereal into mosaics/pictures, cutting with scissors, buidling with Legos, playing with stickers, playing Lite Brite, picking up objects with pliers, making his own pbj sandwich or eating dinner with chopsticks.

I had trouble with pencils up until first grade. They have fat pencils and crayons to make it easier for little hands to use. You can purchase the fat pencils at Kmart, Walmart, maybe even your local grocery store. Let him practice writing with that and in no time he'll be using the skinny pencil!!

You should contact your school district to get him evaled to see if he qualifies for services in school. My son gets speech and OT thru his preschool.

It's free and the school district is who will help you get the services in place for your son. It will get him ready for kindergarden too.

Hope this helps
N.

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A friend of mine had the same problem with her little boy and here was the advice she was given. Have him use broken crayons and broken chalk...preferably with his arm leaning up against a blackboard or easel rather than down on a table. Make things from play-doh, or put things into the play-doh for him to pull out. Stringing beads. Retrieving beads or other "things" from a rice bucket/tub or macaroni tub, or scooping out rice into a cup with a small spoon. Painting with q-tips. Watering the plants with a spray bottle (strengthens more than fine tunes!) Practice with scissors!
Hope this helps!

Does he use those thick pencils that are made for little kids? If not, get some for him. Kids develop at different ages. Alot of things can be awkward for children when they first start out using them.

I would talk to your pediatrician. They are your best bet and if they are not concerned get a second opinion, he coudl just need some occupational therapy to get him on the right track and some excercises to practic eat hoem to reinforce the task.

Dear T., I would try to have him use tongs and baster in the bathtub. In my classes I have taken in the past that was one thing they have told us for fine motor skills. Also try puzzles and stringing beads. I hope this helps. Y. H.

Not to be mean or rude, but, stop worrying over how he writes. He's only four!!! My son,5, is in kindergarten and he just started to write better. He just needs more practice, he'll get it, in time. With his motor skill? I my son goes to see a speech therapist and is doing better. Also, he's been better ever since he started school.

You should have him look at by a PT. My son wa like that and he did do therapy for about a year or so. After that we used fat pencils for him and when it was time to transition to regular one we talked to the therapist and she gave up different grips to put on them. He did stop usng them in time. If you want to can check out this company called Thera pro it is a therapy company that I would order differnt things from tho hielp him with different items.

You can get your child free at-your-house occupational therapy from Elwyn: http://www.elwyn.org/ECS/SEEDS_Philadelphia

There is some great advice here for things to help you practice with him at home. First and foremost I agree with the members that suggested the proper writing tools. Young children need different tools since they DON'T have the fine motor skills of their older counterparts. Large thick crayons, triangular ones, First pencils and even the pencil/pen grips that someone mentioned. Many office supply stores will carry the First pencils (much thicker than a traditional pencil). We have all but eradicated the traditional pencils in our home.

Wishing you the best!

Rolinda
Wife, Mother, Friend

Some ideas for fine motor work:

Put a pile of coins flat on the table and have him pick them up one by one and move them to a cup.

Threading buttons or beads with yarn and a large blunt-end needle

Writing letters to family members out of state - using a pencil and handwriting paper

I am an early childhood teacher and as someone else mentioned, holding a pencil and writing are not really development skills for a 4 year old. Some can do it, but others just need more time to strengthen those muscles and grow. Also many 4 year olds (espeically boys) just don't have the interest to sit and write. I'd hate to see him learn to hate writing activities early so that he can gain strength.

There are tons of other activities that he would be more likely to see as fun instead of work to exercise those same muscles. Tearing paper is a super fine motor activity - surprisingly challenging! Then get out the glue and let him make a collage. I used to have a "cutting pool" for my 4 year olds - brought a turtle sandbox inside and filled with scrap paper and let them sit and snip away. Then didn't cut any lines or anything. Just practiced opening and closing and making those fingers stronger. Playdough is also fun and super for fine motor. You can integrate letters too by rolling playdough into snakes and then twisting into letter shapes. To make it even more interesting, let him help you make homemade playdough (super easy and lots of recipes on internet). You can pick your favorite color and even add special smells with extracts/spices. I got mine each their own tongs because they were always taking mine. Found them at the dollar store and they are one solid piece of plastic - no parts for pinching. They love to use them to pick up blocks and other small toys. Pretend they are a claw on a construction truck and pick up small toys or goldfish snacks and fill up a dump truck.

I have not seen any literature about it, but my neice's school now has special OT's working with all of the children on grips. Apparently there is a wide spread problem somehow resulting from sleeping on their backs as infants. I don't really know the connection, but it sounds like a skill many are struggling with. I wouldn't be too concerned just yet. Encourage your little guy to do some fine motor games with you and let him continue to develop.

My oldest son, who is now almost 13, was born 9 weeks premature. He also had fine motor skills issues. I found a book online (sorry I can't remember the name) that gave a bunch of exercises for him to do. HE didn't qualify for OT through the school - when he concentrated on fine motor skills he did OK. It was when he was doing other things and trying to write at the same or cut on lines that he had problems. We worked alot with play-doh. Bury little things in it and let him find them and dig them out. Also cutting paper into little pieces - no lines, picking small objects out of a mix of rice or cereal and weaving paper together. It did help him. When he started cursive, it was very difficult for him. At nearly 13, he has finally grown out of it. His handwriting is not great, but at least it is now neat. I was told that the prematurity may have had something to do with it, but also the fact that he was left handed and a boy exacerbated the problem.

My son also has trouble holding a pencil. He fine with a marker but with a pencil he writes "squiggly". I was worried because he has had numerous very bad seizures and we thought that maybe this is nerve damage. He is in kindedrgarten now and they told me that some children don't have the dexrterity to hold a pencil correctly until 6 or 7. The teacher also explained to me that we, in 2007, now expect children ages 3 and 4 and 5 to be expert wrtiers whereas many years ago this task was not expected until 1st or 2nd grade. It seems like the schools expectations have not caught up with normal child development! We have noticed that with writing practice everyday, he has improved. Another thing you can do is hold him back a year and let him physically mature...many parents are doing that these days. My other question that comes to mind when teachers bring this subject up is...maybe he just has BAD penmanship...like his father!!!