When we think about helping our kids grow stronger, more coordinated, or more independent, motor skills are often at the top of the list. From zipping up a coat to running across the playground, both fine and gross motor development are critical pieces of a child’s overall growth.
But here’s what we sometimes miss:
Motor skill development (including both fine motor skills and gross motor skills) doesn’t just happen in therapy sessions or during structured activities. It’s woven into the rhythm of your child’s everyday life.
Whether it’s brushing teeth, setting the table, or climbing into bed, each moment is an opportunity for practice, progress, and connection.
And just like we shared in our post about behavior and emotional regulation, these skills don’t develop in isolation. Emotional safety, sensory needs, and predictable routines all impact how children move, explore, and engage with their environment. That’s why supporting the whole child matters so much.
This post is part of our series on Parenting Support, guiding you through easy, real-life routines that nurture your child’s development across ten key areas of development. Today’s focus: fine motor and gross motor skills.
Why Motor Skills Matter
Strong motor skills allow children to:
- Participate more fully in school, play, and daily routines
- Gain confidence in their bodies and abilities
- Develop coordination, endurance, and independence
- Support self-regulation by channeling energy and improving attention
Many times, we see kids that struggle with developmental skills like coordination, handwriting, core strength, or hand dexterity. Using small, intentional routines at home can go a long way.
3 Simple Daily-Life Strategies to Support Motor Skill Development
These strategies are easy to try and built into routines you’re already doing. And they support both fine motor and gross motor growth in a way that’s playful, practical, and powerful.
1. Let Your Child Help with Meal Prep
Inviting your child into the kitchen doesn’t have to mean a big mess or complex recipes. Even small jobs like tearing lettuce, peeling an orange, or stirring pancake batter challenge both fine motor control and core stability.
- Ask your child to pinch and sprinkle toppings, use tongs to transfer food, or roll dough into balls.
- These actions strengthen hand muscles, improve coordination, and boost confidence, especially when tied to a meaningful role like helping feed the family.
Bonus: Kitchen tasks also support sensory integration and sequencing, helping children stay regulated and focused.
2. Create a Bedtime “Body Check-In” Routine
Instead of a rushed bedtime hustle, try a short series of calming movements paired with touch or deep pressure. This can add a gross motor activity before bed that is also calming. This is an easy routine to get into the habit of doing each night that can also help release energy, improve body awareness, and build emotional connection.
- Ideas include wall push-ups, animal walks to the bathroom, or a firm towel “burrito wrap” before pajamas.
- Encourage your child to stretch, breathe, or name how their body feels, integrating motor input with emotional regulation.
This simple routine offers both proprioceptive input and a chance to support winding down, sleep readiness, and connection, all through movement. Body awareness, core strength and stability, and sensory processing play a role in fine motor and gross motor skills including coordination of the body in the environment, and the ability to use fine motor skills needed for daily tasks like dressing, hygiene, and play.
3. Turn Getting Dressed into a Motor Game
Daily dressing tasks are packed with developmental value: balance, coordination, sequencing, and fine motor control. You can make it fun by adding playful structure:
- Lay out clothes in a “ninja” obstacle course around the room.
- Have your child jump to each clothing item, complete a move (e.g., hop while putting on socks), or race to beat a timer.
- Encourage buttoning, zipping, and snapping with gentle coaching. These are all critical fine motor tasks linked to real independence.
Instead of power struggles, these moments become mini motor-skill workouts hidden in daily routines.
Free Printable- Strategies to Improve Motor Skills
We’ve created a free download called “Everyday Strategies to Support Motor Skill Development” with a full list of strategies dedicated to targeting motor skill development through simple strategies you can do everyday, within your routines. The thing is that accomplishing these skills doesn’t happen in a weekly occupational therapy or physical therapy session. The motor skill development needs to be incorporated into everyday tasks at home.
Click the image below to get the printable.
Want them all in one easy-to-use, printable pack (great for clinicians too)? Our full set will be available soon in the Whole Child Guide store! Stay tuned.
And if you missed it, be sure to check out our post on Everyday Strategies for Behavior & Emotional Regulation, another key piece in your child’s growth puzzle.
Support Starts at Home, But You Don’t Have to Do It Alone
Want the full set of strategies across 10 developmental areas?
We’re building a complete printable packet, great for parents, teachers, or therapists. Stay tuned for how to grab the full set or purchase all 10 printable handouts as one convenient download.
Explore other areas of development in our Parenting Support Series:
- Supporting Behavior & Emotional Regulation Through Routines
- Supporting Sensory Processing Through Daily Life Tasks
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