Relations between playing activities and fine motor development

ABSTRACT

Children’s fine motor skills (FMS) are being increasingly recognized as an important aspect of preschool development; yet, we know very little about the experiences that foster their development. We utilized a parent-administered children’s fine and gross motor activities questionnaire (MAQ) to investigate links with FMS. We recruited a sample of 225 preschool children (aged 5;9) and assessed FMS and vocabulary. Additionally, parents completed the MAQ and a questionnaire on home literacy environment (HLE) to test two competing accounts. According to a differential account, fine motor activities lead to greater FMS, whereas according to an epiphenomenal account, a generally more educative home environment fosters FMS alongside other skills. Findings were highly differential: FMS linked to the fine-MAQ but not to the gross-MAQ or the HLE, whereas vocabulary linked to the HLE, but not the fine- or gross-MAQ. The data underscore fine motor activities as a distinct factor in the preschool period.

KEYWORDS:

• Fine motor skills
• home environment
• play
• home literacy environment
• vocabulary

Notes on contributors

Sebastian Suggate is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Regensburg in Germany. He received a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Otago (2009) and his research interests include the development of reading, language and fine motor skills.

Heidrun Stoeger is a full professor in the Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Regensburg in Germany. She received her Ph.D. in psychology (2002). Her research interests include fine motor skills, self-regulated learning and mentoring.

Eva Pufke is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Regensburg in Germany, where she received her Ph.D. (2016). Her research interests focus on the development of reading, fine motor skills and inclusive education.

Notes

1. In Germany, children generally attend kindergarten until age 6 or 7. In accordance with usage in the USA, we term these preschools to avoid confusion.

2. Table tennis is often played outdoors in the country where the study was conducted.