At age 3, which of the following is a common fine motor skill?

At age 3, children typically exhibit the ability to build a tower with blocks. This skill is a significant milestone in fine motor development, reflecting their growing hand-eye coordination and dexterity. Building towers involves manipulating small objects, which helps strengthen the muscles in their hands and fingers, enabling greater control and precision.

While other activities such as using scissors, buttoning a shirt, or threading beads may also involve fine motor skills, they generally develop later as children refine their motor abilities. For instance, using scissors usually appears around age 4 or 5, as it requires greater coordination and precision. Buttoning requires more advanced skill and dexterity than what is typically seen at age 3. Threading beads often appears as a task for older preschoolers as well, as it demands even finer control and patience. Thus, building a tower with blocks is a more developmentally appropriate indicator of a 3-year-old’s fine motor capabilities.