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Concept
Fine motor skill
Summary
Fine motor skill (or dexterity) is the coordination of small muscles in movement with the eyes, hands and fingers. The complex levels of manual dexterity that humans exhibit can be related to the nervous system. Fine motor skills aid in the growth of intelligence and develop continuously throughout the stages of human development.
Motor skills are movements and actions of the bone structures. Typically, they are categorised into two groups: gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills are involved in movement and coordination of the arms, legs, and other large body parts. They involve actions such as running, crawling and swimming. Fine motor skills are involved in smaller movements that occur in the wrists, hands, fingers, feet and toes. Specifically, single joint movements are fine motor movements and require fine motor skills. They involve smaller actions such as picking up objects between the thumb and finger, writing carefully, and blinking.
Childhood development of fine motor skills
Through each developmental stage, motor skills gradually develop. They are first seen during infancy, toddler-hood, preschool and school age. "Basic" fine motor skills gradually develop and are typically mastered between the ages of 6–12 in children. Fine motor skills develop with age and practice. If deemed necessary, occupational therapy can help improve overall fine motor skills.
Early fine motor skills are involuntary reflexes. The most notable involuntary reflex is the Darwinian reflex, a primitive reflex displayed in various newborn primates species. These involuntary muscle movements are temporary and often disappear after the first two months. After eight weeks, an infant will begin to voluntarily use fingers to touch. However, infants have not learned to grab at this stage.
Hand–eye coordination begins to develop at two to five months. Infants begin to reach for and grasp objects at this age. In 1952, Piaget found that even before infants are able to reach for and successfully grasp objects they see, they demonstrate competent hand-mouth coordination.
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