Don't Throw Fine Motor Skills Away!

Fine Motor skills for 3-6 years by Mary Ellen Cassaro, EI

Does your child need help building the muscle strength in their fingers, hands, and wrists? Are they struggling with getting dressed in the morning or opening their granola bar? There are some convenient tools at your fingertips (pun intended!) to help your child. Look no further than your recycling bin!

First, let’s recall what fine motor development delays are. Many children experiencing developmental delays often struggle with their fine motor skills. According to The Warren Center for Children with Developmental Differences,

“Fine motor developmental delays describe a lag in the ability to use the extremities (hands, fingers, wrists, tongue, lips, feet, and toes) as expected for a child’s age. Fine motor skills involve the ability to hold, use, or manipulate objects using some of the smallest muscles of the body. These skills require hand-eye coordination as well as nerve and muscle control. Children need fine muscle skills to complete tasks like coloring, picking up toys, using scissors, and even making a pucker face with the lips.”

When I am working with families as an EI, I often hear parents express the desire to see their children become more self-reliant. They want their child to be able to open a juice box and insert the straw, peel a banana, or open a bottle of water. Other parents want their child to be able to color and press the crayon down hard enough so that you can see the color. These children can operate a TV remote or swipe pictures on a smartphone, but they need help squeezing the toothpaste out of the tube or turning the knob to open a door.

Additional examples of how children use fine motor skills:

Holding a pencil, crayon, marker, or paintbrush
Drawing a picture
Holding spoons and forks to eat
Playing with blocks or puzzles
Using scissors
Brushing teeth
Sticking out tongue to taste food
Buttoning and zipping clothes
Opening containers with lids

What are some activities and materials that will build muscle strength? There are many toys and games out on the market today that will address this need, however, you can put together several household items to make your own! With this article in mind, I walked around my house thinking of my 3–4-year-old friends and what they might need during the course of the day.

What are some items in my recycling bin that I can repurpose for fine motor skill development and how can I use them?

Empty condiment or dish soap bottle: Fill with soapy water to squeeze during bath time.
Old plastic gloves or sandwich/small snack bags: Fill with flour, sugar, rice, or sand and seal with tape. Use these to squish in each hand.
Large chip clips: Use to practice opening and closing or for picking up small items like pom poms or cheerios.
Tongs and empty wipes containers: Use to pick up cotton balls or small toys and put them in the container with the tongs.
Turkey basters: Fill a bowl of water and suck it up into the baster then squeeze it out into the bowl.

Empty spice bottles with screw on lids or lids that snap shut: Have your child fill the bottles with small items or Q-tips.
Empty soda bottles or milk jugs: Fill with soapy water and encourage your child to shake it up and pour it out.
Bubbles: Blow bubbles with a straw.

Cleaning up time becomes a fine motor activity when you encourage your child to

use a pair of tongs!

Finally, spend some time observing your child. Notice what they have difficulty with and become mindful as you go about your own day. Notice the times you have to open and close containers or squeeze and manipulate objects to gain functionality. All of those moments are skills that our little ones will need to develop and use. Our arms, hands, wrists and fingers are amazing tools that allow us to function on a daily basis and achieve so many great things. Practice pointing and counting fingers as a warm up with your child and then raid the recycling bin and have some fun!

The Authoritative Parenting Style; Balancing Love and Expectations with our Children.

07 Jul, 2022

An overview of parenting styles and the best one for development by Maddie Lowe, EI Let's face it, parenting can be hard! When you first become a parent there is no true manual you can study that will prepare you enough to feel truly confident in caring for and raising your sweet bundle of joy. But despite all the struggles, anxiety, and stress that come with being a parent, the sacrifice you make to ensure they feel loved, secure, and safe will set your children up for a bright and exciting future. Though there are different ways to parent a child, there are four fundamental parenting styles that have been recognized within the field of developmental psychology-permissive, neglectful, authoritarian, and authoritative. And among these four, research psychologist, Diana Baumrind, has determined that an authoritative parenting style is the most effective and beneficial style for children to thrive as they age and become independent adults. We are going to dive into each parenting style and discuss the impacts each has on a child, but before we do that, I want you to examine your childhood. And as you read, I want you to identify which one seems to align most with how you were raised. I want you to dive in and see how it affected yourself and how it has impacted your techniques in raising your children. Permissive Parenting The permissive parenting style centers around the child viewing the parent as a friend. Parents who follow this style are often very loving and supportive but struggle with establishing appropriate behavioral expectations. The consequences of this style are that children learn rules are optional, they have a harder ability to learn self-control, and often struggle to establish a clear trajectory for their lives as adults. Neglectful Parenting The neglectful style is based on a parent being routinely uninvolved in the child's life. A child's basic needs are often met, but he or she will struggle to feel loved and secure. The effects of this style are mistreatment, low self-esteem, and poor relational skills. This is not an effective style and should not be encouraged. Rest assured though, that having your child in early intervention shows that you have not chosen this style! Authoritarian Parenting The authoritarian perspective can be summed up in one popular saying, "children are seen not heard." Authoritarian parents are strict where unwavering rules are set, respect is demanded, and there is little consideration for a child's needs emotionally and behaviorally. The consequences of this parenting style are that a child struggles to understand their emotions, have limited coping skills, and are more susceptible to high levels of stress, leading to mental health deficits such as depression and anxiety as adults. A child grows up feeling unloved and devalued. Authoritative Parenting The authoritative parent understands the balance of being strict but also loving. This style encourages open communication between parent and child where both the respect for the child’s needs and a parent’s expectations are established. Natural consequences for a child’s behavior are the root of discipline thus he learns for himself what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. This parenting style has been proven beneficial for a child to learn responsibility, to become independent, and to develop a secure sense of self as they age. A child's overall development is strongly impacted by how he or she is raised. I look at my own childhood and acknowledge that I was raised in a mostly authoritarian household. This experience has impacted me in being overly self-critical, feeling devalued by others, and being indecisive in my own decisions. I have become an overall healthy adult, but it did take a lot of work-work that I do not want my children to have to do. What parenting style did your parents adopt and how has that affected you? How will your parenting style affect your children? The authoritative parenting style is proven to be the most effective and balanced style to help children develop to their best abilities. This style is encouraged by developmental psychologists, early interventionists, and other professionals in the field of early childhood education and development. We want our children to have bright and fulfilling lives and you are taking the steps needed to do just that. We at KIDS have a passion for helping families and the children we serve to learn the skills and have the resources needed to follow a balanced parenting style of love and appropriate expectations. If you do not know how to adopt an authoritative parenting style, talk with your special instructor or service coordinator, call KIDS, and review the resources below to learn more! https://www.apa.org/act/resources/fact-sheets/parenting-styles https://www.verywellfamily.com/ways-to-become-a-more-authoritative-parent-4136329 https://parentingscience.com/authoritative-parenting-style/ Maddie Lowe Early Interventionist Kid in Development Services, LLC

Wait! What is Early Intervention?

04 Apr, 2022

Wait! What is Early Intervention?

Hi…I’m Deneen!

18 Feb, 2022

Hi, I'm Deneen I’m a teacher, early interventionist, lover of American Sign Language, a mom, and full-time director of Kid In Development Services (KIDS) Early Intervention Program. Welcome to our blog! If you’re here, I’m sure you’re looking for inspiration to help your infant or toddler! How about some fun family activities you can build into your regular routines throughout the day? Or some easy ways to get your infant’s or toddler’s development moving in the right direction? We hope you keep coming back here to see all of the awesome things we have planned to share with you! I would love to personally meet each and every one of you (hmmmm…that gives me an idea for a KIDS meet & greet!...let me know what you think about that!). Until we can make that happen, I just want to give you a peek into who I am and how I got into this *amazing* career of helping families like yours! I won’t go into great detail, because all of you are busy and just need the quick and dirty/”cliff notes” version (really showing my age with that one!)