School Aged Milestones

Fine Motor Skills

(printing/handwriting, drawing, cutting)

“Fine motor” refers to the movements we make with the small muscles of the hands. Children start to use their hands right at birth to explore their own bodies and the world around them. Their fine motor skills develop as their whole body starts to move and become more stable. They also learn to do more things with their hands as their cognitive and social/emotional skills improve.

Below are some of the typical developmental milestones for fine motor skills for a school aged child up to 7 years old. Below the milestones, are "red flags" that might indicated a problem.

If you have concerns about your child at any age, please feel free to contact us to speak to a professional.

Between the ages of 5-7 years, your child will:

Use one hand consistently for fine motor tasks
Learn to print letters and numbers, and then words
By 7 years, keep printing neatly within the lines
Cut out art projects, staying on the lines
Colour inside the lines well

Draw pictures that are recognizable
Start opening packages by herself
Get dressed by himself, including most fasteners (shoe laces may still be hard)
Use a fork and knife together to cut soft foods

Red Flags for Fine Motor Development (school-aged)

If you have some of the following concerns about your child once she is in school, you may want to ask for help from your child’s teacher. Your teacher may recommend that you seek further help from your doctor or another health professional such as an occupational therapist. For more information about the typical development of printing and handwriting skills, please click here.

He cannot seem to decide which hand to use for fine motor activities
Her movements are shaky or stiff
His arms and hands seem very weak

She is not able to draw the basic shapes such as circle, cross (+), square, triangle
He is not able to cut along straight and curved lines with scissors
She is having a lot of difficulty learning to print letters or numbers

If you have concerns about your child at any age, please feel free to contact us to speak to a professional. You can also make a referral to our centre at anytime.

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Fine Motor Skills

(printing/handwriting, drawing, cutting)

Between the ages of 5-7 years, your child will:

Red Flags for Fine Motor Development (school-aged)

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CTFRC provides a number of workshops to the community and families / caregivers. Two of our most popular workshops are included here. Click for more info or to register for an upcoming session!

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CTFRC Parent

CTFRC Parent

CTFRC Parent

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