Toddler fine motor skills by age: blocks, crayons and spoons

Between 1 and 3 years, your toddler's hands become far more precise. At the start they bang, shake, pile up and knock down; by the end they turn pages one at a time, unscrew lids, thread large beads and use a fork. "Fine motor" simply means these small, controlled movements of the fingers and hands, usually working with the eyes.

The CDC's "Learn the Signs. Act Early." checklists list skills that 75% or more of children have by each age. Stacking at least two blocks is on the 15-month list, scribbling and trying to use a spoon are on the 18-month list, eating with a spoon is on the 2-year list, turning book pages one at a time is on the 30-month list, and stringing large beads and using a fork are on the 3-year list. Many toddlers do these things earlier. This guide sets out the skills by age, play ideas that help, how to keep small parts out of reach and when to ask for advice.

What fine motor skills should a toddler have, by age?

Kids Health lists the same skills on its 30-month and 3-year milestone pages. Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby describes the same path in its own words. Its 12–18 month page says toddlers learn by shaking and banging things and putting them in piles or towers, then knocking them apart, and may start to scribble and finger feed more efficiently. By 18 months they may try a pencil or spoon and start picking up very small objects. Its 18–24 month page says toddlers can scribble with a pencil, make things with blocks, put cups and boxes inside each other, and may take off their socks and shoes.

How do toddlers' hand skills develop, skill by skill?

The AAP's 1-year hand skills page says that at 12 months picking up very small objects between thumb and forefinger is still a challenge, but by the middle of the second year it's simple. Its 2-year hand skills page says 2-year-olds can turn the pages of a book, build a tower six blocks high, pull off shoes, unzip a large zip, turn a doorknob, unscrew a jar lid and use a cup with one hand. The sources set block towers at slightly different heights, so treat them as a rough guide.

How do toddlers hold a crayon?

At first, the AAP says, a 2-year-old usually holds a crayon with the thumb on one side and the fingers on the other, and may stretch an index or middle finger towards the tip. It calls this grip clumsy but good enough for scribbles, and describes learning to "draw" as a major milestone of the year.

Which hand will my toddler use?

The AAP says your child may show a clear preference for one hand by their second birthday, but many children don't settle on one hand for several years and some use both equally. The AAP's 2-year milestones note a toddler might use one hand more often than the other. It advises not to pressure a child to use one hand.

How can I help my toddler's fine motor skills?

You don't need special equipment. These ideas come from the CDC's tips, Kids Health and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby:

1. Blocks and stacking toys. Build towers and let your toddler knock them down, then take turns (CDC). Kids Health suggests blocks, stacking and nesting toys.
2. Crayons and paint. Kids Health suggests fat crayons or markers. The CDC suggests crayons or finger paint at 2 years, and "drawing" with crayons on paper, shaving cream on a tray or chalk on the footpath at 30 months. Draw a straight line and see if your child copies it; when they're good at lines, show them a circle.
3. Playdough. The CDC's 3-year tips say playdough builds hand and finger muscles for writing, buttoning and cutting. The AAP suggests making shapes from clay as your toddler nears 2.
4. Puzzles, shape sorters and peg boards. Kids Health suggests these for 1- to 2-year-olds, and the CDC suggests simple puzzles with shapes, colours or animals.
5. Fill, tip and pour. Give plastic containers, spoons and a funnel in the bath or sandpit (CDC). Pregnancy, Birth and Baby suggests blocks, plastic containers and pegs.
6. Books. Show your toddler how to turn the pages of a book or magazine (CDC), and let them turn the pages as you read.
7. Busy boxes. Kids Health suggests busy boxes with switches, buttons and knobs to explore.
8. Threading. Large beads or pasta tubes on a thick shoelace build towards the CDC's 3-year skill. Use pieces too big to swallow and stay close.
9. Everyday jobs. Let your toddler use a spoon, fork and open cup at meals, carry plastic cups or napkins to the table (CDC), and help with dressing.

Let your toddler try things themselves, even when it's slower and messier.

How do toddlers learn to use a spoon, fork and cup?

The CDC's guide to fingers, spoons, forks and cups says babies can start using a spoon by themselves at around 10 to 12 months, and that after about 12 months children quickly get better at using spoons, forks and cups. It suggests giving your child chances to use a spoon and fork, even if it makes eating messy.

Trying to use a spoon is on the CDC's 18-month list, eating with a spoon on its 2-year list and using a fork on its 3-year list. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says 18- to 24-month-olds often want to eat and drink by themselves and may try a spoon, cup and perhaps a fork. Our feeding toddlers guide covers what to serve.

How do I keep small parts, magnets and batteries away from toddlers?

Better finger control means your toddler can pick up tiny things. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says that by about 18 months toddlers can start picking up very small objects, such as small stones or parts of toys, and that it's very important to watch in case they swallow them or put them in their ear or nose.

Small parts

• Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby choking guide says, as a general rule, items smaller than a 20-cent coin can choke a child younger than 3 years. The Royal Children's Hospital's toy safety page, from Melbourne in Australia, uses a fifty-cent piece as its guide, so the bigger coin is the safer test.
• Follow the age labels on toys; the RCH says they relate to safety, not to how clever your child is. Don't store toys for older children with your toddler's toys.
• The RCH says not to buy foam toys, such as foam bath blocks, for children under 3, because they may bite pieces off.
• The AAP's choking prevention page says to avoid toys with small or detachable parts and toys that can be squeezed to fit entirely into a child's mouth, and that balloons are a choking risk for children up to 8 years old.
• Check toys regularly for broken parts and loose pieces (RCH).

Magnets

The AAP's magnet safety page says swallowing more than one high-powered magnet can be life-threatening, because they pull together inside the digestive system. It urges families with children not to keep high-powered magnet sets at home, to get rid of any rare-earth magnets, and to check magnetic toys for cracks where magnets could come loose. The NHS safety guide says to keep magnetic toys with small pieces away from young children.

Button batteries

Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital in Australia says button batteries are as dangerous as poisons and can harm the food pipe and airway within 2 hours of being swallowed. They're in keys, remote controls, calculators, musical greeting cards, watches, kitchen scales and toys that light up, move or make sounds. Make sure battery covers are screwed shut and lock spares away. The AAP's battery guide adds taping compartments shut and hanging keys up high.

Water beads

Water beads are often sold for sensory play. The AAP's water beads page says they can grow to about 100 times their size in water, keep expanding after being swallowed, can block the intestines, may not show on X-rays and are a choking hazard, especially for children under 3. It says that if you have young children, it is safest not to have water beads in your home.

If your toddler swallows something

• Button battery or magnet: call your local emergency number (000 in Australia, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US) or go straight to the nearest emergency department, even if your toddler seems well. The RCH says not to wait for symptoms, and its swallowed objects page says not to make your child vomit. The RCH and AAP both describe giving honey on the way to hospital for a battery swallowed by a child over 12 months; follow their instructions or the call-taker's, and don't delay leaving to find it.
• Water beads: get medical help straight away (AAP); the RCH says to go to hospital.

The thrusts differ by country for children over 1. St John Ambulance Australia gives up to 5 chest thrusts after the back blows, alternating until help arrives, and says to follow DRSABCD (the first-aid steps that lead into CPR) if your child becomes blue, limp or unconscious. The NHS uses back blows and abdominal thrusts for children over 1, keeps chest thrusts for babies under 1, and says to start CPR if your child becomes unconscious. See choking vs gagging for more.

What if my toddler was born early?

If your child was born more than 3 weeks early, the CDC's online checklist says to use their corrected age, and to use the younger checklist if their age falls between two. The AAP's corrected age guide says to use corrected age to track development for the first 2 years. Kids Health's 2-year page notes that toddlers born prematurely reach milestones later, so talk with your doctor about your child's progress.

When should I talk to a GP or child-health nurse?

Call your local emergency number (000 in Australia, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US) now if your toddler

• is choking and can't cough, breathe or talk properly, or turns blue or becomes unresponsive (Pregnancy, Birth and Baby)
• has swallowed, or might have swallowed, a button battery or a magnet (RCH)
• is vomiting blood after swallowing something
• has difficulty breathing, has blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin or lips, is hard to wake or is having a seizure (the NHS urgent help guide)

Go to the emergency department now if your toddler

• has swallowed water beads (AAP, RCH)
• after swallowing a small object, is drooling, has trouble swallowing, has pain in the chest, neck or tummy, keeps vomiting or has blood in their poo (RCH)

Talk to your GP or child-health nurse soon (don't wait for the next check) if your toddler

• stops doing something with their hands they could do before. Every CDC checklist says to act early if a child "has lost skills he or she once had", and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby lists lost skills at 2 years as a reason to see your doctor or child-health nurse.
• has muscles that seem stiff or floppy, struggles with balance, or doesn't seem equally strong on both sides of the body (AAP; Pregnancy, Birth and Baby)

Talk to your GP or child-health nurse if

The CDC's advice is not to wait: share your concerns with your child's doctor and ask about developmental screening. Kids Health's movement guide also notes that missing one milestone doesn't always mean there's a problem, and a check is the way to find out.

What's worth writing down?

Note when you first see a two-block tower, a scribble, a spoonful that makes it to the mouth, and pages turned one at a time. If your toddler has stopped doing something or seems to favour one side strongly, write down when you noticed and take a short video of them drawing or stacking to show your GP or child-health nurse.