Three self-care tasks that require fine motor skills in kids

Dressing skills require the use of two hands together, a sense of body position and orientation of clothing, and hand skills that incorporate complex grasping patterns & manipulation skills to use buttons, snaps, zippers, and more. The tasks of putting on and removing shirts, shoes, socks, & pants are everyday examples of dressing skills that require fine motor and upper extremity function.

Hygiene (bathing, hand-washing, brushing teeth, toileting) skills depend on the child’s increasing ability to use fine motor skills with different tools and objects used as part of the task. For example, using a slippery bar of soap or manipulating a push-pump to extract shampoo or conditioner.

Eating & drinking skills require the ability to use forearm control with refined in-hand manipulation skills at the same time. Use of utensils, plates, and cups/straws requires a variety of hand grasp patterns.  Bilateral hand skills (the use of two hands together in an organized manner) are used to open containers, scoop food into a spoon, pick up food items using a fork, cut food using a knife, and pour liquids without spillage.