Early childhood development—the period before your child turns 8—is a formative period for cognitive and motor skills. As a parent or guardian, you have a crucial part to play in helping your child practice these skills. While this may seem a little daunting, there are many games and techniques you can easily slip into your day that will help your child work on their gross and fine motor skills while having fun.

How to Encourage Early Childhood Development

1. Improve Hand-Eye Coordination

Making necklaces, threading beads through laces, and drawing with pens and crayons are excellent ways to build developmental skills. Getting your child to practice using their non-dominant hand helps encourage bilateral integration (being able to use both sides of the body in a coordinated way), and using pens and threading beads helps improve hand-eye coordination and finger dexterity.

2. Practice Tummy Time 

Tummy time—laying a baby on their tummy when they’re awake—helps to develop strength in their neck, shoulders, and core. Babies practice pushing themselves up, rolling over, and crawling. As they get older, the motor skills they learn during infancy help them further establish skills in sitting up and pulling themselves to standing. The strength they build in their shoulders and arms also prepares them to foster fine motor skills in their hands and fingers.

3. Play Imitation Games

Imitation games help children enhance both fine and gross motor skills. Playing games like follow the leader will enable your child to practice large body movements as they copy what you do. Drawing and building a structure with blocks are excellent activities that your child can replicate to build their early childhood development. These tasks will help them refine fine motor skills and strengthen their concentration as they try to finish a drawing or stack blocks.

Plainville Early Learning Center has been providing compassionate childcare to families in Plainville, CT, since 1970. This education helps children achieve physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development through a variety of educational activities. They offer toddler care for children who are 18 months to 3 years old, and have a stimulating early childhood development preschool program for kids who are 3 to 5 years old. Call (860) 747-3321 or visit their website for more information about their programs.