How to Give Your Toddler Fun Activities to Improve His Hand-Eye Coordination

Playing will improve hand-eye coordination.

Encouraging your toddler to spend time on some simple and fun activities can improve her hand-eye coordination, which in turn can help her prepare for reading by improving her observation and memory skills. Improved hand-eye coordination also will help increase your toddler's ability to do artwork and use a pencil.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Lego Duplo bricks
• Crayons
• Puzzles
• Various small objects
• Tinker Toys or Lincoln Log
• Mr. Potato Head

1. Provide your toddler with some Lego Duplo bricks. Show your child how they can snap together to make things. Lego has some themed Duplo sets if your child needs help imagining what to build, like Thomas, Bob the Builder and Dora the Explorer.

2. Let your child play with puzzles. Start with puzzles with only five to 10 pieces and build up to more challenging puzzles. As your toddler completes a puzzle, provide him with a new one.

3. Have your toddler color with jumbo-size crayons or markers. Consider using Crayola color-safe markers if your child has a hard time keeping the marker on the paper and off of her clothes. Your toddler will learn to make marks on the paper. Encourage your child to make straight and curved lines.

4. Have your child sort small objects as you watch. Use different types of dried beans, colored objects, or beads. Get some empty cups and have your toddler sort the objects by color or shape.

5. Provide your toddler with a Mr. Potato Head toy. Let your child put the different pegged accessories into Mr. Potato Head to decorate him. Have your toddler take the pieces out and try a new design.

6. Provide your child with Tinker Toys or Lincoln Logs. Each of these fun toys provides a good opportunity for your toddler to improve his hand-eye coordination.

Tips & Warnings

• It might help to keep your toddler in her high chair while doing some of these activities so she will not be distracted by other things.

• Iif you give your toddler small objects that could be a choking hazard, stay with him to supervise. If you are uncomfortable with this, use larger object that are not choking hazards.

References

• OneStepAhead: Improving Your Child's Hand-Eye Coordination