Fine motor skills are skills that involve a refined use of the small muscles controlling the hand, fingers, and thumb. The development of these skills allows one to be able to complete important tasks such as writing, drawing, and buttoning.

There are numerous toys on the market that help with proper development of fine motor skills. Classic choices for young children include blocks, lacing beads, puzzles and play dough. For older kids, coloring pictures and using scissors provide excellent opportunities to practice and perfect fine motor skills.

Below is a list of fun, quality toys that help children in the important task of acquiring and practicing fine motor skills.

Lacing Bear, ages 3 and up, $15
https://www624.ssldomain.com/comeplaytoys/store/Details.cfm?ProdID=69&category=7
The lacing bear comes with 8 outfits and 3 accessories. Special tipped laces make lacing easy for young hands.

Latches Board, ages 3 and up, $23
A beautifully crafted board with polished brass locks, latches and clasps. It has hide and seek pictures behind each door. Helps to develop memory and fine motor skills.

Magnetic Circle Express, ages 2 and up, $20
Children hold the magnetic wand and move it around the circle maze to guide metal balls around it.

Cutting food box, ages 3 and up, $22
Food makes a realistic "crunch" sounds as children cut it. Contains 2 sanded wooden cutting boards, 2 knives and food items. The cutting movement helps kids develop fine motor control.

Magnetic fishing game, ages 3 and up, $10
A magnetic fishing pole is used to catch magnetic sea creatures. Helps to develop fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, and visual perception.

Construction Activity Pack by Lauri, ages 3 and up, $15
ASIN: B0007LQGT6 at amazon.com
Kids design the shape of an interlocking roadway, and there's a 3-D model dump truck that really dumps - plus construction workers to saw and direct the truck. There are even three Lacing and Tracing cards and 20 tool-shaped baubles for stringing. The perfect toy for boys to hone their fine-motor skills.

1-2-3 Fish! by Lauri Toys, ages 4-8, $14
ASIN: B000E2ZN2Y at amazon.com
Toy includes nine numbered, heavy-duty chipboard fish, one chipboard boot, two wooden fish poles with crepe rubber hooks, and suggested games.

Toddler Tote, ages 2 - 5, $15, item #96489 at www.kaplanco.com
Toddler Tote promotes color and shape recognition, concentration, fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination. Made of crepe rubber, it's safe, quiet, and completely washable. Please note that shipping to individuals at this website is quite costly – the website mostly caters to pre-schools and schools. I do shop this website, though, because of the huge selection of educational, high quality toys.

Magnetic Building Shapes, ages 3 years and up, $20, item #61653 at www.kaplanco.com
Children discover the properties of magnets while building with this unique 3-dimensional construction set that contains 54 pieces. The set has an assortment of shapes which allows for endless building possibilities. Magnet play board is included.

Sewing Button, ages 3 and up, $15, item #61061 at www.kaplanco.com
This set includes one large red wooden button, one wooden base and wooden needle with string for lacing.

Pickup Sticks, ages 5 and up, $7
Drop the pick-up sticks from the wooden storage box, and try to remove individual sticks from the stack without making another stick fall flat. This is a classic game that teaches coordination, dexterity, strategy skills, and patience.

In addition to purchasing toys that promote fine motor skills development, it is a good idea to encourage your child to engage in daily activities that involve precise movements. Inserting a DVD into the DVD player, using a computer mouse and keyboard, and even helping you with domestic tasks such as mixing cake batter and folding laundry, are all fun activities that help kids to develop fine motor skills.