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It’s a wrap, well, an unwrap really – a sneak peek at the skills used when unwrapping

Written by My First Five Years | Nov 3, 2022 9:20:40 AM

Although your toddler may be too young to really understand the idea of presents, they might have a new-found interest in paper – particularly in unwrapping it! Paper play promotes lots of lovely fine motor movements, as well as a whole host of other skills.  

Physical – exercising fine motor muscles 

When your toddler explores unwrapping, they give their fine motor muscles a good workout. Their fingers work hard to grab the paper and by applying different amounts of force to stop the paper slipping from their grasp they build finger strength.  

Sensory – awareness of their body 

Paper can be a tricky material to control as it sometimes slips away. It can also fold unexpectedly when force is applied in the wrong place – your toddler might knock their hand against the paper instead of grabbing it. During these explorations, your toddler connects feelings of movement and touch. 

Cognitive – learning from explorations 

Thinking skills are used when unwrapping. Each time your toddler tries to pull at paper, they add to their understanding of how materials behave. They can use this knowledge to enhance both their learning about the task they’re completing, and their skills in thinking more widely about the world. 

By exploring how much force might be needed to unwrap an object, your toddler investigates cause and effect. Sometimes the paper will pull away, other times it might squash and sometimes it might tear. This will be an ongoing investigation! 

When they are deeply engaged in explorations like this, they also demonstrate their developing concentration skills. 

Visual – hands and eyes working together 

Your toddler combines skills in reaching and grasping with their visual skills when unwrapping loose paper.  

To direct their arm, hands and fingers to where the paper can be grabbed, they rely on their vision.[1]
Each time they try, they work on their hand-eye coordination. 

 

Reference: 

[1] Franchak, J.M, Yu, C. Visual-motor coordination in natural reaching of young children and adults. Cogsci. 2015 Jul;2015:728-733. PMID: 29226279; PMCID: PMC5722454.