Fine Motor Skills Checklist

What are fine motor skills?

Fine motor skills refer to precise, controlled movements involving small muscles in the hands, fingers, and wrists, essential for tasks requiring fine motor control. These skills play a critical role in a child's fine motor skills development, supporting activities like writing and manipulating small objects. Fine motor development begins early in life and progresses through different age groups. Delays in these skills can signal developmental challenges, making them crucial indicators in child development.

Examples of fine motor skills include:

• Manipulating small objects or tools
• Drawing shapes or pictures (important for pre-writing skills)
• Cutting shapes using scissors
• Writing and grasping tools, like pencils (e.g., pincer grasp or mature grasp)
• Building with blocks
• Buttoning clothes and tying shoelaces
• Painting with wrist action

These activities showcase fine motor milestones that children develop over time, starting from infancy.

How to use this Fine Motor Skills Checklist

The template contains a checklist that provides a clear outline of fine motor milestones by age range, allowing you to track key developmental markers.  This checklist has been adapted from the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales 2nd edition  and the Occupational Therapy for Children third edition,  allowing observers to check if the child meets typical developmental milestones.

Step 1: Download this template

Start by clicking the "Use template" button to open the Fine Motor Skills Checklist template on the Carepatron app. This template can be edited on the app and filled out, or you can print it directly from there. You can also save a non-customizable, fillable PDF by clicking "Download."

Step 2: Observe the child’s abilities

Begin by observing the child in natural settings, such as during playtime or routine activities. Look for how the child interacts with objects, handles toys, or performs tasks that require hand-eye coordination, such as grasping, reaching, or manipulating objects.

Step 3: Compare observed behaviors with the checklist

After observing the child, compare the behaviors to the milestones listed for their age group in the checklist. If the child shows difficulty with tasks like building with blocks, using utensils, or writing, mark these areas for further review. Identifying areas of concern early is important for creating targeted interventions.

Step 4: Document and evaluate findings

Document your observations and mark the checklist based on the child's performance. If there are gaps or delays in fine motor skills, consider whether these delays are significant enough to warrant further evaluation by a healthcare provider or occupational therapist. This step is crucial in identifying developmental concerns.

Step 5: Follow up with appropriate interventions

If delays are noted, collaborate with an occupational therapist or other relevant professionals to assess the child more thoroughly. Interventions such as occupational therapy or focused exercises may be necessary to support the child’s fine motor skill development. Track progress regularly using the checklist to monitor improvements.

Understanding fine motor development

Fine motor skills are essential milestones that reflect a child's ability to control the small muscles in their hands and fingers. These skills are critical for performing everyday tasks such as writing, self-care, and play. While each child develops at their own pace, fine motor skill progression follows a general timeline from infancy to early childhood.

1 to 3 Months

In the first few months, fine motor skills are largely reflexive. Babies can tightly grasp objects placed in their hands and may begin to swipe or bat at nearby items. By the end of this stage, they start to follow objects with their eyes and exhibit an increased awareness of their hands.

4 to 6 Months

During this stage, motor skills become more purposeful. Babies begin to reach for objects with both hands and may use a raking motion to grasp smaller items. They start shaking rattles, touching their fingers together, and experimenting with hand-eye coordination by reaching and grasping toys.

7 to 9 Months

Fine motor skills develop rapidly between seven and nine months. Babies can transfer objects between hands, use a pincer grasp (thumb and index finger) to pick up small items like Cheerios, and bang objects together. They also begin poking objects with their index fingers, a sign of growing precision and curiosity.

10 to 14 Months

By this stage, toddlers can perform more complex actions, such as placing small objects into containers and removing them. They also begin to point at objects, turn thick pages in books, and make marks on paper. Skills like stacking blocks and fitting shapes into puzzles emerge, reflecting growing problem-solving abilities.

15 to 23 Months

As toddlers become more independent, they develop the ability to build small block towers, turn multiple pages at a time, and scribble without guidance. They also start exploring push, pull, and dump motions, which strengthen coordination and hand strength.

24 to 36 Months

Between two and three years, fine motor skills become increasingly refined. Children can build taller block towers, string beads onto yarn, imitate simple shapes like lines and circles, and turn one page at a time in books. They may also start using child-safe scissors to snip paper, further developing precision and control.

36 Months

By three years old, most children can perform more advanced tasks, such as cutting paper in half with scissors, copying shapes more accurately, and participating in fine motor activities like drawing and building. These skills set the foundation for future tasks, including writing and self-care routines.