Play Activities to Improve Hand-Eye Coordination in Babies

May 23, 2023

At 18 months, babies make big strides! Seeing your little one able to throw balls into boxes amazes you, but also reminds you to keep nurturing their developing hand-eye coordination. Here are ways to boost this skill through play:

Improved hand-eye coordination at 18 months

Hand-eye coordination refers to the ability to perform precise hand movements with visual input. As babies grow, they progress from grabbing objects they see to throwing objects they see.

At around 18 months, babies' vision develops from 2D to 3D perception. This helps their eyes track and judge moving objects, stimulating hand-motor skills. Their hands also gain the finesse to grasp and throw balls.

So as babies' vision and motor skills advance, they can judge distance and adjust their hands to throw balls.

The benefits of hand-eye coordination

Hand-eye coordination allows babies to adapt hand movements based on visual input, supporting intelligence and skills for learning to read and write.

Around 14 months, babies enjoy ball toys. Throwing and catching balls helps them understand cause and effect, object motion and gain motor skills.

Play activities to develop hand-eye coordination

Capitalize on baby's new throwing skills with these "tossing" games:

Little pitcher: Use different-sized containers. Baby will adjust their throws based on visual judgments of the openings.
Hoop shoot: Start close to the hoop, then move further away. Praise baby's attempts. Over time, they'll throw from farther away.
Toss and catch: Take turns tossing and catching toys to each other. Moving around adds a challenge for the baby to visually recalculate each throw.

Babies' hand-eye coordination develops continuously. Watch for new skills and support growth through guided play.

References:

Burton. L .White, From Birth to Age 3:Infant and Toddler Development and Early Education, Beijing Joint Publishing Company, 2017
Wendy .Masse, American Gold Baby Early Education Infant and Toddler Games, Beijing Science and Technology Press, 2016