First published: 4 December 2022 @ 6:00 pm
You know your baby is already developing their vision and hand-eye coordination during their first year. What you may not realize is that toys have a part in that development too.
Hand-eye coordination is the coordination between the two and it is something that will benefit your baby throughout their life.
Some parents argue it is not the toys that are helping their baby learn this skill, but rather the time the child spends playing the toys.
While it is true that you can’t force your baby to improve their hand-eye coordination, but you can set the best conditions for your child to learn through play.
Here is what you can do to improve your baby’s hand-eye coordination:
How to Improve Your Baby’s Hand-Eye Coordination?
1. Encourage Them to Look for Toys
Start by putting some toys in front of them and encourage them to reach for and look at them. Be careful not to call their attention away from the toy by doing this yourself.
Give them something light to grab and move around from time to time. This will help them develop hand-eye coordination quickly.
This is because it encourages them to make movements with their hands while interacting with objects. They will then be able to focus on what they are doing and repeat it time after time, benefiting everyone in the process!
2. Play Back-and-Forth with Them
You should also try things like passing little rings or balls back and forth between your hands while looking at each other.
This way, both of you will focus on what your hands are doing instead of getting distracted by other things in the room. Children can’t concentrate for too long, but the more time they spend playing with you, the more things they can learn from it.
3. Switch Things Up from Time to Time
You may even want to try different games out there so as not to get bored. Repeating the same activities repeatedly isn’t good for anyone involved!
You will feel fatigued and your children will become bored sooner than later.
The bottom line is that you need to keep trying new things if you want your child’s hand-eye coordination skills to develop properly!
How Can I Encourage My Baby to Reach for Toys on Their Own?
You don’t have to worry about it!
It will happen naturally a few months after a child turns six months old. They will begin to reach for objects that catch their attention, rather than just waiting for someone to put something in their hand.
This is a major milestone for baby development. However, many parents don’t realize that it is also the beginning of a new set of challenges.
If, even after turning six months old, your child still doesn’t want to reach out on their own, there are some things you can do.
Try playing with your baby using an object that they can’t reach. You could hold it up in front of them or you could even move it from side to side or up and down.
Just make sure that they are looking directly at it as you do this.
When they try to grab the toy, try moving it out of reach again and repeat the process until they give up.
Then, switch toys and repeat the whole process all over again.
The goal is for your child’s frustration level to be higher when the toy is within reach than when it’s out of reach.
Make Learning Fun for Them!
Now that you know what the signs of hand-eye coordination are, and how to encourage them, we hope you will use this information to make the most of your child’s development.
Hand-eye coordination skills are crucial for anyone who wants to develop a high level of visual intelligence. And it’s also great for children as they get older.
Our blog, Maturel Parent, will provide you with more tips on this topic as the time comes! To get updates on the latest posts and information on hand-eye coordination, subscribe to our newsletter!
