What Are Motor Skills Games?

Motor skills are basic muscle skills that are developed as a child. Doctors have created several types of motor skills games designed to improve motor skills in both children and adults. These games typically require both eye-hand coordination and mental concentration. Some motor skills activities include tying shoes, doing puzzles, making crafts, and manipulating buttons or snaps.

There are two basic types of motor skills games used today. These help enhance either fine motor skills or gross motor skills. Fine motor skills use the fingers and hands to pickup objects and require detail control and concentration. Gross motor skills involve larger muscles and require the entire body to complete. Some examples of gross motor skills include sitting, walking, running, and climbing.

Several motor skills games focus on gross movements. These are typically exercise games that require a person to use large muscle movements. This type of motor skill requires a person to make judgments on distance and various kinds of incoming objects to make an appropriate action with his muscles. Some examples of gross motor skills games include baseball, basketball, and football.

Catching and throwing are two examples of gross motor skills. These movements are essential for a football player and help a person learn eye-hand coordination. Other gross motor skills used in football games include pushing, pulling, crawling, and twisting.

Fine motor skills use the fingers and hands to manipulate small objects. Some good fine motor skills games include peg games, video games, and blocks. Fine motor skills are also required to open doors and bottle tops.

A peg game teaches fine motor skills. These games require an object to be placed into a small hole. Peg games are typically timed so therapists can measure a patient's progress and he can feel a sense of accomplishment when he beats his prior time.

Motor skills games are typically recommend for people that have been in serious accidents. This is most often needed when a person has injured his brain. These games are designed to help a person gain back his coordination and confidence by training him to perform simple coordination tasks.

Assembly games are motor skills games that require a person to put something together. This is a form of fine motor skills training. Some examples of assembly games include models, puzzles, and paint-by-numbers kits.

If a person loses his basic motor skills, he will need assistance and therapy to get through his daily life. This therapy includes many games that help him relearn essential movements and coordination. Some games may include a form of lifting, throwing, or skipping to help a person become comfortable with large muscle movements.