Children understand the world with their hands

Five-year-old Kim tentatively stretches out her hand - and quickly pulls it back again. «Ewww, that's horrible. I'm not touching that!» she protests. Some kindergarten teachers are hearing comments like this more and more often. And not because the children should touch a dead animal. It's about modelling clay, finger paints or a dancing cone. This is reported by Gabriella Fink, who was a kindergarten teacher in the Zurich Oberland for over 35 years and now offers freelance training in development-orientated learning at teacher training colleges, in school teams and in small groups.

Some children are not allowed to cut with scissors because their parents are afraid they might hurt themselves.

Gabriella Fink, kindergarten teacher

But is that a bad thing? «Yes,» says Gabriella Fink, «children learn with their hands. They can only understand the world by touching it.» She is convinced that young children who do not have basic experiences with natural materials such as sand, stones, earth or things like dough or modelling clay will struggle with fine motor skills later on.

This is because the build-up of strength and the development of motor skills to be able to fold, paint or string beads takes place in the years before starting kindergarten. These fine motor activities, in turn, are so-called precursor skills and are central to being able to hold a pencil correctly and write letters and numbers with appropriate pressure.

Over the past five to ten years, Gabriella Fink and other teachers have noticed that more and more children are finding it difficult to cut, draw or close zips. «Today, there are clearly more children with deficits in fine motor skills in a class than those with developmentally appropriate skills,» says the teacher.

Too much time on the screen?

That sounds alarming. And where does Gabriella Fink see the causes? Mainly in the use of new media. «Instead of going outside, parents put their children in front of a screen. That's a disaster, especially for small children.» The coronavirus crisis has exacerbated this trend.

She attributes another reason to the over-anxiousness of some parents: «They don't let their children cut themselves with scissors or knives because they are afraid the children might hurt themselves.» In addition, the stress to which many parents are exposed means that they don't have time to involve their children in everyday life or let them do things on their own.

But can the tendency for children to become weaker in fine motor skills also be observed elsewhere? Karin Siegenthaler, a kindergarten teacher in Unterägeri ZG for over ten years, has not noticed any fundamental deterioration in fine motor skills. «The range was already wide in the past and there were always children with deficits,» she says. However, she sometimes hears cases from colleagues in other cantons that make her swallow empty: «There are children who stroke the pages of a picture book like a mobile phone because they don't know that they have to turn the pages.»

Some children don't have the time to get involved in something and they hardly have to put up with boredom any more.

Karin Siegenthaler, kindergarten teacher

Lack of concentration

What Karin Siegenthaler notices is that some children are less persistent than they used to be. «Fine motor tasks such as handicrafts are also strenuous and require the ability to concentrate. Some children find it difficult not to be distracted or not to give in to their urge to play.»

She sees the reason for the lack of stamina in the dense leisure programme and the many offers that are available in our society. Some children lack the time to get involved in something and hardly have to put up with boredom any more.

However, earlier school enrolment should not be disregarded: In most cantons, the cut-off date has been moved from the end of February to spring in recent years, and in many cantons even to the end of July. This means that the youngest children are just four years old when they start kindergarten. It's clear that they don't yet have as much experience as four-and-a-half or five-year-olds.

Aren't the requirements simply too high? In part, yes, according to both kindergarten teachers interviewed. However, Curriculum 21 leaves room for manoeuvre. As an example, Gabriella Fink cites the objective «The child can handle tools according to their age». In this respect, it is up to the teacher to support the children in a development-orientated and individual way.

Research disproves negative trend

Karin Siegenthaler finds the latter one of the most challenging parts of her job. «I'm mostly alone with 23 children. Among them are some who have a very high level of fine motor skills and others who still need to gain basic experience.» Being able to provide targeted support and encouragement to all of them is not easy.

Nowadays there are shoes with Velcro fasteners. Why bother with shoe ties?

Claudia Roebers, developmental psychologist

Oskar Jenni also knows that kindergarten teachers are under a lot of pressure these days. He is Head of Developmental Paediatrics at Zurich Children's Hospital and says: «The social changes affecting kindergarten and school are a major challenge.»

Nevertheless, the observations that children increasingly exhibit fine motor deficits cannot be substantiated by studies. His research team analysed data from several thousand children who were tested for their motor skills between 1983 and 2018. «Fine motor skills are surprisingly stable,» summarises Oskar Jenni.

Social milieu plays a decisive role

Claudia Roebers, Head of the Department of Developmental Psychology at the University of Bern, also confirms: «Research shows no deterioration in children's fine motor skills.» She does not understand complaints that kindergarten children can no longer tie their shoes, for example. She takes a pragmatic view: «Nowadays there are shoes with Velcro fasteners, so why should they have to struggle with tying their shoes?»

The question remains: How can the discrepancy between the perception of some kindergarten teachers and the research be explained? Are the studies not up to date enough and don't take the effects of the coronavirus pandemic into account? No, says Oskar Jenni. A recently published Canadian study even shows an improvement in the fine motor skills of children who were toddlers during the coronavirus crisis.

The catch is that the majority of families analysed had a higher socio-economic status. Oskar Jenni also recognises this sticking point: «Socio-economically disadvantaged families are not very accessible for most studies. We are also less able to reach them with education and interventions.» However, it is precisely these families that have experienced a lot of stress during the coronavirus pandemic, which in turn may have contributed to problematic use of digital media.

Digital media are not only negative

However, both researchers refuse to view the new media in a negative light. «Digital environments are indispensable in today's world and can certainly be valuable spaces for experiences,» says Oskar Jenni. Claudia Roebers adds: «The right computer games can increase attention, for example.» There are also good apps for four-year-olds to recognise numbers or rhymes.

Nevertheless, she emphasises: «It's all about the right cocktail. If a child spends three hours a day in front of a screen, they don't have time to have other important experiences. If a child is only outside in the forest, neither do they. It's a simple displacement mechanism.»

We must not leave the parents alone and must ask ourselves why they put their children in front of a screen.

Oskar Jenni, developmental paediatrician

All interviewees emphasise that children must be given the opportunity to try out different things in order to develop their fine motor skills. «Parents don't have to do handicrafts if they don't like it or don't have time, but the child must have access to appropriate materials and be given the opportunity to do so,» says Oskar Jenni. This can also be in a playgroup or at a neighbour's house.

In general, Oskar Jenni believes it is important not to blame the parents. «Instead, we need to ask ourselves why parents put their children in front of screens. They are often regulating their own stress or their own burdens. That's where we need to start and also show them alternative ways of keeping their children occupied.»

He cannot give any specific advice on this. More intervention projects are needed here. He emphasises: «Society as a whole must take responsibility and face up to these challenges. We must not leave the parents alone.»