As babies grow and develop, they discover new ways to control their body and interact with the world.
For most children, foundational skills develop within an expected age range, such as sitting up, crawling, and walking. As well, motor skills tend to build upon each other. Without being able to crawl, for example, your child may have greater difficulty learning to stand up.
At Aurora Speech Clinic, our team of pediatric occupational therapists has a particular area of clinical focus in fine and gross motor skill development.
You pediatric occupational therapist will work to understand the nature of your child’s difficulties and provide a treatment plan designed to achieve their goals.
If your child is exhibiting delays in their motor skill development, help is available.
What Are Gross Motor Skills?
Gross motor skills are those that involve the larger muscle groups in your body. As a result, they tend to be larger movements, such as running, jumping, and the movements required to play sports.
Gross motor skills tend to develop along an expected trajectory. As your baby learns how to control their body, they will build on their existing gross motor skills to develop new ones. As a result, a delay in acquiring a certain skill may cause delays or complications in further development.
Below, you’ll find the average age at which children are expected to develop their gross motor skills.
By 6 Months Old
By the time your baby is 6 months old, you may notice them:
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Rolling over
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Supporting their own head when you hold them in a sitting pose
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Raising their arms and legs during tummy time
By 12 Months Old
By the time your baby reaches their first birthday, you may notice them:
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Crawling
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Maintaining a seated position without support
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Pulling themselves up to a standing position with support
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Walking with support
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Shifting between seated, crawling, and tummy time positions
By 18 Months Old
By the time your child reaches 18 months old, you may notice them:
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Sitting and crawling with relative ease
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Beginning to walk less clumsily
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Pushing a ball with their foot (not a full kick)
By 2 Years Old
By your child’s second birthday, you may notice them:
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Walking confidently
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Changing directions while walking
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Pulling a toy with them as they walk
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Carrying a toy with them as they walk
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Walking up and down stairs with support
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Picking up objects from the floor (without falling)
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Attempting to run
By 3 Years Old
By your child’s third birthday, you may notice them:
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Using the pedals on a tricycle
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Jumping with both feet together
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Climbing ladders and monkey bars
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Walking up and down stairs with alternating feet
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Catching a ball with their hands and body
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Coordinating bilateral limb movement (e.g. both hands up)
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Standing on one foot, very briefly
By 4 Years Old
By your child’s fourth birthday, you may notice them:
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Kicking a ball
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Throwing a ball
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Walking along a straight line
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Hopping on one foot
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Standing on one foot for up to 5 seconds
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Jumping over objects, landing with both feet together
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Catching a ball that’s bounced off a surface
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Avoiding obstacles while running
By 5 Years Old
By your child’s fifth birthday, you may notice them:
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Walking backwards
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Hanging from an overhead bar
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Catching a small ball with only their hands
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Carrying objects up the stairs
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Stepping forward while throwing a ball, with the same side arm and leg
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Skipping
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Jumping forward repeatedly without falling over
By 6 Years Old
By your child’s sixth birthday, you may notice them:
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Skipping rope
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Walking along a balance beam without falling
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Running lightly on their toes
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Demonstrating refined jumping, throwing, and catching skills
What Are Fine Motor Skills?
Fine motor skills are related to smaller movements of muscles, such as the fingers, hands, and wrists.
Your child will use their fine motor skills when learning to write, use any hand tools, tie their shoes, and much more. Just like gross motor skills, children begin to develop these skills from birth. A delay with certain skills can have a cascading effect.
Below, you’ll find some of the developmental milestones you may notice.
By 3 Months Old
By the time your baby is 3 months old, you may notice them:
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Grasping reflexively (from birth)
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Reaching for objects, though ineffectively
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Developing a voluntary grasp
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Grasping objects with two hands (2 handed palmar grasp)
By 6 Months Old
By the time your baby is 6 months old, you may notice them:
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Grasping objects with one hand (1 handed palmar grasp)
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Reaching for objects with greater control
By 12 Months Old
By the time your baby reaches their first birthday, you may notice them:
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Reaching for and grabbing objects
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Putting grabbed objects in their mouth
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Releasing grabbed objects
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Grabbing and picking up objects with thumb and one finger (static pincer grip)
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Moving objects from one hand to the other
By 2 Years Old
By your child’s second birthday, you may notice them:
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Holding a cup
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Drinking from a cup without help
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Holding a crayon with their fist
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Using a crayon to scribble
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Using a paintbrush with large, broad strokes
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Turning the pages of a book a few at a time
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Placing pegs on a pegboard
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Stacking up to 3 blocks
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Feeding themselves mostly unassisted
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Communicating with gestures (e.g. waving bye bye)
By 3 Years Old
By your child’s third birthday, you may notice them:
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Adding large beads to a string
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Using safety scissors (but not yet with paper)
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Holding a crayon with their thumb and fingers
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Beginning to develop different patterns with crayon or brush (vertical, horizontal, circular, etc.)
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Beginning to manipulate modeling clay (Play-Doh) to flatten, squeeze, roll, pull apart, etc.
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Feeding themselves unassisted
At this point, your child should begin to display a dominant hand as well (left or right handed).
By 4 Years Old
By your child’s fourth birthday, you may notice them:
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Stacking up to nine blocks together
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Drawing circles from copying
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Creating rudimentary shapes from modeling clay (snakes, balls, etc.)
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Cutting paper using scissors
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Using their non dominant hand as a support during activities
By 5 Years Old
By your child’s fifth birthday, you may notice them:
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Cutting along a straight line
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Getting dressed and undressed on their own
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Drawing squares and crosses from copying
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Writing letters from copying
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Writing their own name
By 6 Years Old
By your child’s sixth birthday, you may notice them:
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Using scissors to cut simple shapes out of paper (triangles, squares, etc.)
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Drawing more complex shapes from copying
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Colouring in a colouring book, mostly staying within the lines
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Displaying a proper pencil grip
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Gluing objects together without making a big mess
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Drawing basic, recognizable pictures
By 7 Years Old
By your child’s seventh birthday, you may notice them:
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Writing mostly legibly, and on the lines
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Building Lego, Meccano, K’Nex, or similar sets on their own
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Tying their own shoelaces
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Using a pencil adeptly
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Demonstrating improved endurance with writing
Pediatric Occupational Therapy For Fine & Gross Motor Skills
Pediatric occupational therapists (OTs) play a crucial role in helping children develop and improve their fine and gross motor skills.
These skills are essential for a child’s physical and cognitive development, as they affect their ability to perform everyday tasks, play, learn, and interact with their environment.
Here are some ways in which pediatric occupational therapists help with fine and gross motor skills:
Assessment and Evaluation
OTs start by assessing a child’s motor skills to identify any areas of weakness or developmental delays.
They use standardized assessments and clinical observations to determine the child’s specific needs.
Individualized Treatment Plans
Based on the assessment, OTs create personalized treatment plans tailored to each child’s unique strengths and challenges.
These plans set specific goals for improving motor skills.
Fine Motor Skills
OTs work on activities such as:
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Grasping and manipulating objects
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Using utensils for eating
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Writing, coloring, and drawing
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Buttoning, zipping, and tying shoelaces
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Picking up small objects (e.g., beads, coins)
Gross Motor Skills
OTs work on activities such as:
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Balance and coordination exercises
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Climbing, crawling, and rolling
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Ball skills, including throwing and catching
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Riding a bike or scooter
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Jumping, hopping, and skipping
Adaptive Equipment and Assistive Technology
OTs may recommend the use of adaptive equipment or assistive technology to help children with motor skill challenges. This could include specialized tools, adaptive seating, or computer software designed to improve motor skills.
Pediatric OTs play a vital role in helping children with developmental challenges achieve their full potential in fine and gross motor skills, which are fundamental for their overall growth and participation in various activities.