Natural Progression

As your child develops skills such as walking and running she’s also acquiring other, more complex skills, such as using her hands.

 
The more your child matures, the more complex the messages sent by her brain - and the more her muscles are able to respond. From 12 months onwards you'll notice huge changes in your child as her reactions and actions become more advanced.

12-18 months

In these months, your baby goes from reaching and grabbing to being able to manipulate what she picks up. She’s had practice at the pincer grip (thumb and forefinger), has learned to release objects well, and can manage finer activities which help build small muscle development and refine hand-eye skills.

Your child may:

* Try more complex tasks, such as holding two small objects in one hand
* Build a tower of two or three blocks
* Throw objects such as saucepan lids or spoons (casting) in order to discover the different noises they make as they hit the floor!
* Improve on feeding herself by around 15 months, though she may still throw food for fun!
* Put a half-full cup down without spilling it
* Put small objects into a bottle by 15 months
* Try to turn the pages of a book
* Make lines with a pencil or crayon
* Put on some of her clothes by 18 months
* Remove small objects from bottle by turning it upside down by 18 months Tip: Show her how to manage skills like fitting, posting and building towers of bricks – she’ll find it much easier to learn with your help.

18-24 months

Your child'll develop increased wrist flexibility and finer control over her separate fingers, which enable her to perform ever more advanced tasks. Your child may:

* Love reading and turn over two or three pages of a book at 18-20 months, and turn pages one at a time by 24 months
* Be fascinated by zips, buttons and other fastening
* Feed herself well without spilling
* Enjoy finger painting and scribbling
* Put on gloves, socks and shoes by 24 months, but not do them up
* Turn a knob to open a door
* Unscrew lids if they’re loose
* Use a pencil or crayon more accurately
* Build a tower of four bricks by 24 months

Tip: Your child may enjoy construction toys - especially if you help her fit the pieces together.

Two to three years

During this year, your child increasingly refines the skills she needs to control a pencil, use a fork, and other advanced tasks. Scribbling, which helps small muscle control, becomes more important this year. By three, her drawings become more representational and she can tell you about the picture she’s drawing.

Your child may:

* Thread large beads from two-and-a-half
* Fasten large buttons if the buttonhole isn’t too tight
* Be good at putting on and taking off clothes (she may go through a phase of doing this for hours!)
* Build a tower of eight to nine bricks
* Try to use scissors - a big step forward in brain/muscle coordination and in manual dexterity
* Have a go at drawing circles or even letters (ie the first letter of her name) by three

Tip: Invest in activities such as threading, easy jigsaws and simple crafts, and give her lots of help and encouragement.