The Relation Between Fine Motor Skills and Executive Function in Two-Year-Old Children

Cognitive processes such as executive function are associated with positive behavioral and health outcomes across the lifespan, highlighting the importance of identifying early predictors of executive functioning. During infancy and early childhood, the development of motor skills provides opportunities for action, exploration, and learning that may support emerging cognitive processes. The present exploratory study examined the relation between fine motor skills and executive function in 2-year-old children (N = 33; 13 girls and 20 boys; M = 31 months; age range = 25–35 months). Participants completed the fine motor subtests of the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, assessing grasping and visual motor integration, and the Minnesota Executive Function Scale as a measure of executive functioning. Fine motor skills were positively associated with executive functioning; however, when controlling for age, only visual motor integration remained significantly correlated with executive functioning. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that both grasping and visual motor integration significantly predicted executive functioning after controlling for age. These findings suggest that fine motor skills, especially the coordination of visual and manual processes, may play an important role in early executive function development independent of age. Interventions that support fine motor development may therefore have the potential to confer broader benefits for executive functioning in toddlers.