How to Improve Kids' Hand-Eye Coordination

Hand-eye coordination can help your kids cut paper more efficiently.

Development of motor skills allows children to have confidence when competing with other children in sports and other activities. Catching a ball is just one athletic feat your child can master from practicing hand-eye coordination. Athletic skills can spill over into improved confidence, and this is only achieved through consistent practice. The same skills can improve performance in school due to the kids' ability to write more legibly.

Things You'll Need

• Building blocks
• Dress-up dolls
• 1- to 2-inch wind-up cars
• Video games

Instructions

1. Start working with your children motor skills after he starts picking items up regularly, around 6 months, depending on his development. The longer you wait in applying hand-eye exercises, the further their hand-eye-coordination will take to mature.

2. Give your children toys that involve hand-eye coordination, such as building blocks, dress-up dolls or small cars that wind up. Unlike everyday activities, children can become immersed in these toys and play with them for hours.

3. Practice specific exercises to help the child's hand-eye development. Have a child practice grabbing items that are various distances to help her improve her coordination. For example, have a child place two blocks in front of her, with one that is one foot away and the other that is 1.5 feet away. Have her pick up the nearest one and then put it down, followed by lifting the furthest one and then placing it down. Tell the child to repeat the motion several times. Or have a child push a button that is lower than another and rotate between the top and bottom buttons. Many children's toys have multiple buttons that can be pressed.

4. As they mature, let your kids do their everyday activities such as dressing themselves, writing, feeding themselves, brushing their teeth, washing their hands and working on school assignments. Kids who don't have savvy coordination avoid activities that involve hand-eye skills.

5. Introduce the children to online games. The movement of the mouse to accomplish goals in each game will improve their hand-eye skills.

References

• One Step Ahead: Improving Your Child's Hand-Eye Coordination
• Learning Games for Kids: Hand-Eye Coordination is an Important Skill
• Bodyomics: How to Improve Hand Eye Coordination