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 ...
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.
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