Physical Development in Toddlers

Fostering a child’s physical development sets them up with lifelong skills for wellness and a love for physical activity. You might wonder how this is possible within the confines of your home given the current context – we’re here to help!

Before we get into what you can actually do for your child’s physical development, you must know that children who are active in the early years (0-6 years) are seen to develop healthier lifestyles as adults and have fewer behavioral problems. Physical development of the child is tied to other development areas and lots of active play along with balanced nutrition promotes better physical and cognitive health. Toddlers need a lot of physical play that would help develop their gross and fine motor skills. They are filled with lots of energy and they need an outlet to help them stay focused, gain muscle control, balance, and hand-eye coordination.

Here are some easy-to-do physical development activities which can be easily added to a toddler’s daily routine

FINE MOTOR SKILLS

Developing fine motor skills is crucial for preschoolers as it lays the foundation for tasks like writing, using utensils, and manipulating objects. Here are some fun and engaging activities to help them develop these skills:

For wrist strength:

• Squeezing Sponges: Let your toddler squeeze water out of a sponge during bath time or when helping to clean. Squeezing sponges works on hand and wrist muscles.
• Screw and Unscrew Lids: Provide containers with different sizes of lids for your toddler to screw and unscrew. This helps with wrist rotation and fine motor coordination.
• Crawling: Engage your toddler in crawling games where they move on their hands and knees. Crawling strengthens the wrists and shoulders, which are essential for fine motor control.
• Finger Painting: Let your toddler finger paint on a vertical surface, like an easel or window. Painting on a vertical surface requires wrist extension and builds wrist strength.
• Rolling Pins: Let your toddler use a small rolling pin to flatten playdough or dough. Rolling pins help develop wrist strength and control.

Incorporating these activities into your toddler’s playtime can help strengthen their wrists and improve their fine motor skills, making tasks like writing, cutting, and using utensils easier as they grow.

For finger strength:

• Pinching Playdough or Clay: Encourage your toddler to pinch, squeeze, and shape playdough or clay. Pinching playdough strengthens the small muscles in the fingers.
• Sticker Play: Provide stickers and encourage your toddler to peel and place them on paper. Peeling stickers requires precise finger movements and strengthens the fingertips.
• Buttoning Practice: Use a button board or a piece of fabric with large buttons and holes for your toddler to practice buttoning. Buttoning strengthens the fingers and enhances dexterity.
• Pulling Apart Velcro: Give your toddler toys or items with Velcro to pull apart and press together. The action of pulling Velcro apart strengthens finger muscles.
• Doodling: Doodling helps children improve their hand control and finger strength, which are important for writing and drawing. It’s a fun way to get better at using pencils and crayons. Toddlers cannot actually write at their age so it is essential to get them started with doodling as a training activity. During prewriting, children go through different developmental stages such as forming different grips such as palmer, quadruped, tripod etc. All these help the child develop various muscles which are needed for writing in the later years.
• Finger Puppets: Use finger puppets for play and storytelling. Finger puppets encourage finger movement and strength.

For hand-eye coordination:

• Ball Games: Play simple catch-and-throw games with a soft ball, or roll a ball back and forth. These activities improve tracking skills and hand-eye coordination.
• Building Blocks: Provide blocks for your toddler to stack, build, and knock down. Stacking blocks requires precise hand movements and visual tracking.
• Puzzles: Offer simple puzzles with large pieces that fit into corresponding spaces. Puzzles encourage problem-solving and coordination between the eyes and hands.
• Drawing and Coloring: Encourage your toddler to draw or color within lines or simple shapes. Drawing and coloring develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
• Playing with Marbles or Pom-Poms: Let your toddler pick up small items like marbles or pom-poms and place them in a container or through a tube. Picking up small objects improves precision and coordination.
• Bubble Popping: Blow bubbles and encourage your toddler to pop them with their fingers. Popping bubbles enhances tracking skills and quick hand movements.
• Using Tongs or Tweezers: Give your toddler child-safe tongs or tweezers to pick up small items like cotton balls or beads. Using tongs strengthens hand muscles and improves coordination.
• Target Practice: Set up a target (like a bucket or hoop) and have your toddler throw balls or beanbags into it. Aiming and throwing develop spatial awareness and coordination.

GROSS MOTOR SKILLS

The bigger muscle development requires a lot of physical movement like balancing and walking, running, jumping, climbing. These different kinds of movement help develop muscles and coordination. Allowing a child to participate in gross motor activities also help in developing additional skills such as problem-solving. Here are some activities to help toddlers develop gross motor skills:

• Obstacle Course: Set up an obstacle course with pillows, chairs, and tunnels for your toddler to crawl under, climb over, and navigate around. This activity encourages balance, coordination, and motor planning.
• Jumping Games: Encourage jumping on a trampoline, or play games where your toddler jumps over small objects or lines on the ground. Jumping strengthens leg muscles and improves coordination.
• Dancing: Play music and have a dance party with your toddler, encouraging them to move freely. Dancing helps with balance, coordination, and rhythm.
• Running and Chasing: Engage in simple running games, such as chasing or playing tag. Running builds cardiovascular health and strengthens leg muscles.
• Ball Kicking: Set up a small goal or target and have your toddler practice kicking a ball into it. Kicking improves leg strength, coordination, and balance.
• Hopping on One Foot: Encourage your little one to hop on one foot, either in place or while moving forward. Hopping develops balance, coordination, and leg strength.
• Climbing: Provide opportunities for safe climbing, such as on playground equipment, stairs, or climbing structures at home. Climbing strengthens the arms, legs, and core muscles while improving coordination.
• Swinging: Take your toddler to a playground and let them swing. Swinging improves balance, coordination, and core strength.
• Push and Pull Toys: Provide toys that your toddler can push or pull, like a wagon or a toy lawnmower. Pushing and pulling work on upper body strength and coordination.

These activities are great for developing gross motor skills in toddlers, helping them gain the strength, balance, and coordination needed for more complex physical activities as they grow.