The development of the mind-muscle connection is very complex. It’s extremely important for young children to develop both their “big” muscle skills and their “small” muscle skills to set them up for success in the classroom and beyond!
What are Motor Skills? Why are they important for children?
Gross motor skills are those which require whole body movement, using the bigger muscles of the body to perform everyday functions, such as standing and walking, running and jumping, and even sitting upright. They also include hand-eye coordination skills (like throwing, catching, kicking), as well as riding a bike or a scooter.
Fine motor skills involve the engagement of small muscles in very deliberate (“fine”) movements, usually involving hands and fingers in coordination with the eyes. Developing fine motor skills requires a lot of practice. Without fine motor skills, a young child will struggle with movements that come naturally to an older person, like using a pencil, using scissors, tying their shoes, and many other important daily activities.
How can Pro Tapes® products help develop children’s motor skills?
Believe it or not, our tape products make excellent tools in developing these essential life skills for children (and making it a little easier for parents!)
You can help your children develop their fine motor skills with actions like tearing tape, cutting tape with a safety scissors, sticking down and peeling tape up, and peeling off the paper liner on double-sided products (like UGlu®)
There are also many tape-based activities that engage children’s gross motor skills in a fun (and organized) way! Check out our Pinterest board HERE for ideas!
Plus, using tape means you can keep your house neater at the end of the day. Skip the messy cleanup after using paints and glues! Our tapes stick to almost any surface, and they remove from most surfaces just as easily, without leaving behind sticky residues. You can put tape down on your floors, walls, tables, desks, chairs – almost anywhere- without worrying about permanent damage to those surfaces.
These are some of our tapes that we recommend for motor skills activities:
Many of our tape products are easy for little fingers to unwind. Pro® 46, Pro® Artist, and Pro® Pocket Spike Stacks use a soft backing (that is, the non-sticky part of the tape) so they’re easy to tear by hand.
These tapes also come in a fantastic range of colors, so you can have your child pick their favorite color!
Learn more about our tapes here:
- Pro® 46: crepe paper masking tape; comes in 12 colors
- Pro® Artist Tape: comes in 11 colors, including 4 bright fluorescents that kids love!
- Pro® Pocket Spike Stacks: come in a pack of 5 bright fluorescent colors- plus, these rolls are small, perfect for little hands!
