Fine and Gross Motor Milestones for 2-Year-Olds

DEFINITION OF FINE MOTOR SKILLS

As your 2-year-olds strengthen the small muscles in their hands, they will be able to build their fine motor skills. Think of anything your hands can do: grasp objects, hold objects, and manipulate small objects… those are all fine motor skills.

2-YEAR-OLD FINE MOTOR SKILL MILESTONES

• Build a tower of a few blocks
• Hold a crayon with thumb and fingers
• Turn pages of a book
• Hold a cup and drinking from it independently
• Pick up small objects with thumb and one finger
• Place shapes into a shape sorter toy
• Eat with utensils without assistance
• Show preference of a dominant hand

FINE MOTOR SKILLS ACTIVITIES

You can provide activities to strengthen and refine fine motor skills at home or in a classroom setting. Although it can be messy, allowing 2-year-olds to play with Play Dough or clay is a great way to help strengthen those small muscles! It’s a lot of fun too and something a 2-year-old will enjoy.

Offer crayons to a 2-year-old so they can practice holding it in their hands. At this age it will just be mostly scribbling, and that’s ok! As those fine motor skills develop, writing will be easier for your 2-year-old as they get older.

DEFINITION OF GROSS MOTOR SKILLS

When toddlers are moving the rest of their body (besides their hands), they’re developing their larger muscles. As they build these muscles, they will be able to improve their gross motor skills such as walking, running, throwing, hopping, kicking, and catching.

Remember the doctor asking you if you offered “tummy time” to your 2-year-old as an infant? Building those muscles in their torso as an infant affects their development now as a 2-year-old. As a 1-year-old toddler, they probably were falling a lot and having trouble keeping their balance. By age 2 you usually can watch your preschooler master going up and down stairs, walking, and running without falling.

It’s miraculous to see how much gross motor development has occurred in the last two years! From not being able to hold their head up independently to running across your living room… 2-year-olds are pretty amazing!

2-YEAR-OLD GROSS MOTOR SKILL MILESTONES

• Walks smoothly; can turn corners
• Begins to run
• Can hold a toy while walking/running
• Can walk up and down steps; still may need assistance

GROSS MOTOR SKILL ACTIVITIES

To improve your 2-year-old’s gross motor skill activities, head to the park! There you can work on all their large muscles… but they’ll think they’re playing! Have your preschooler kick a soccer ball, go down a slide, throw a baseball to you, run from one tree to another tree, and swing on a swing!