As children grow, they need to develop a sense of balance and coordinate movements as per their visual input. All the day to day activities that we perform, whether it is walking, writing, dressing up, or even crossing a busy road, require a good synchronized effort by the eyes and body. This is why the development of motor skills is imperative. We can help our children develop their motor skills while playing with them at home or in a childcare/classroom. There are ample ways to strengthen body muscles, practice co-ordination and develop motor skills. There is absolutely nothing better than sports to boost muscle strengthening and motor skills. Exercises such as jumping, push-ups, toe touches, leg lifts, etc. and sports like football, cricket, tennis etc. are popular options for enhancing your child’s motor skills. Stacking, sorting, threading, beading are again all good activities to build your eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity.

Here are 5 games and activities that can enhance your child’s motor skills:

1. Play-Doh

Play-Doh is a great way to introduce your child to developing fine motor skills. Children love to knead and shape the coloured clay dough. The best thing about it is that it’s easy enough to make at home. So, no money gets wasted buying it from the market again and again.

2. Hopscotch

Hopscotch is an age old game which has been a favourite of kids all over the world. Hopscotch requires a coordinated effort jumping and landing on a fixed spot. Encourage your kids to jump, skip and hop. These activities build their stamina and sense of body balance.

3. Balancing

Encourage your child to walk across a balance beam. Another version could be, take a rope and lay it on the floor in twists and turns. Now ask your kid to walk in small steps forwards or backwards with good control.

Twister: The art to play this game involves listening to the body part and colour that the referee calls out. When you hear “Right Foot… Red!” put your right foot on the red circle on the mat. It may sound easy, but soon enough you’ll find yourself reaching around the other players to follow the referee’s directions. Avoid falling over as the last player standing wins! This game is devised for non-stop action and it progresses into complicated postures as the contestants try to outwit each other in a session of fun and excitement. Since this game is played as a team competition, the game stimulates team spirit and social interaction among the players, and improves their ability to think. (Please read the full review here.)

4. Hide and Seek 

Though it doesn’t look like, hide and seek is a great game to build your child’s motor skills. First of all, by playing it, children learn that even though they cannot see objects, the objects exist in reality. You can make this interesting by showing your child a few articles, and hiding them around the room. Set a time limit and let him search the objects in the limited time span. This is also a fun way to boost cognition and build memory.

5. Video and Motion Sensing Games

Action, adventure and drama, one can find everything in the video games. Though you must keep a strict watch on your child’s screen time, you must allow him/her to play video games which also serve to refine cognition and hand eye coordination. Motion Sensing Games provide a realistic experience, encourage the development of hand muscles and are a hit among both the kids and adults!