Best Ways to Strengthen Hand Muscles in Young Children

Our hands are important in life and used for many tasks. Time spent in developing strong small motor skills reward us with coordinated movements. It is very important for children to start developing skills that ensure strength in hands for the future. Here are a few activities to incorporate small motor activity into everyday play time.

Tearing Paper

Would you believe that tearing and picking up paper helps develop muscle skills in the hands? Thank goodness children, especially toddlers love to do this. Provide many kinds of paper for children to tear and have grocery bags handy for the scraps. Picking up tiny paper pieces gives fingers another workout after the tearing practice. When children tire of this activity, offer the kids child-size brooms and dustpans to clean up the mess. The large muscles need a work-out too!

Containers and Lids

Putting snap-on lids on containers and screwing on jar lids and bottle tops exercise different muscles and are great activities for young children. Select a variety of containers and their lids, including bottles, jars, margarine-type tubs and Tupperware. Encourage children to use these containers as they explore the outdoors, picking up leaves, acorns, flowers and such. Putting items into these containers requires muscle control. Bring the nature finds indoors for sorting and using them in art projects.

Pasting and Gluing

Children love to paste things on paper to make various collages. Think about the nature finds above or even the paper scraps that were torn. There are many things to paste on paper and this helps the finger muscles to develop.

Stringing Things

Stringing things is great fun for young children and develops eye/hand coordination as well as small muscles. Start by wrapping a piece of tape around the end of a piece of yarn which makes a needle replica. Knot the yarn's end around a large bead or pasta shape. Offer the children a variety of items for stringing, such as paper scraps with holes punched in the center, cardboard tubes that have been cut into rings, plastic drinking straws cut into pieces, O-shaped cereal, pasta shapes and more. Let the kids use these completed strings for decorations or make into necklaces when both ends are tied together.

Wringing and Twisting

Do you remember how it feels to wring out clothing that you have hand-washed? Think about how this strengthens the hands. Put out two dishpans of water outdoors for the children to wash objects. Add soap to one and leave clean water in the other dishpan. Give young children dish towels, wash cloths, doll clothes, and even baby clothes to wash, rinse, and wring. As they squeeze to wring out the fabrics they are exercising their hands and fingers.

Pinching

After the fabrics have been washed above, think about stringing a low clothesline between two chairs or two trees in the yard for children to hang the washables to dry. An easy option is to hang the fabrics on wire hangers. The act of pinching clothespins strengthens the three fingers children will use later for pencil control.

Sand Play

Children love to play in sand boxes, but this time remove all the shovels and digging toys. Invite the children to dig and mold the sand with their hands. At other times, add a small amount of water to the sand for a different texture. The scooping and digging exercises fingers and hands. For fun, mix in some small toys and have the children go on a treasure hunt dig.

Squeezing

Gather some eyedroppers and the turkey baster for some squeezing fun. Place a dishpan of water outdoors and invite the kids to squeeze the bulbs on these utensils to gather water. Give them a plastic container where they can fill it as they squeeze the bulbs on the baster or eyedropper. Don't be surprised if the kids start squirting you and siblings on a hot summer day. Nothing beats honest water fun!

As children play, they develop skills including muscle control. Hands on learning is a great way to provide exercise and fun all in one. These are only a few ideas to develop the hands - I'm sure you will think of more!