The Desperation For Kids Learning Fine Motor Skills

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Dr. Laura Podcast

Episode: The Desperation For Kids Learning Fine Motor Skills

Date: January 3, 2026
Host: Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Overview

In this episode, Dr. Laura examines the alarming decline in fine motor skills among children, referencing a National Geographic study and a commentary on Mother.ly. She discusses how increased screen time and the reduction of hands-on, creative activities have left modern kids struggling with basic dexterity—like tying shoes and using scissors. Dr. Laura offers insights, recalls personal parenting anecdotes, and shares practical strategies to help parents nurture these essential skills in their children.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Decline in Fine Motor Skills Among Kids

• Dr. Laura brings attention to a recent National Geographic study that highlights a crisis in children’s fine motor development.

  • Kids struggle with tying shoes, using scissors, and holding pens or pencils.
  • Overreliance on screens leads to decreased opportunities for practical, hands-on skillbuilding.

  “Kids are having a hard time tying their shoes. Oh, just get Velcro. Using scissors, holding a pen, holding a pencil. All the fine motor skills that were there when kids went to school... now they're just too much damn screens.”
  — Dr. Laura (02:02)

• She notes that activities like writing, drawing, crafting, and outdoor play are being replaced by passive screen use.

  “Moving a mouse around is not what I consider a fine motor skill.”
  — Dr. Laura (02:34)

2. Loss of Hands-On Childhood Experiences

• Dr. Laura reminisces about older generations of children:

  • Collecting bugs & playing outside.
  • Building things, arts and crafts, chemistry sets.
  • She praises Legos as one of the remaining activities cultivating fine motor skills, critical thinking, and organization.

  “I like Legos for kids. I like it a lot. A lot of fine motor skills go in there and learning to read colors, shapes and put them together.”
  — Dr. Laura (04:20)

3. Everyday Life is Becoming “Too Easy”

• Modern convenience is eliminating opportunities for skill-building:

  • Elastic waist pants replace buttons and zippers.
  • Prepackaged snacks mean kids don’t peel or pour.
  • School lunches are fully prepped—no need to cut or separate food.

  “Prepackaged snacks that replace pouring and peeling. Remember taking an orange, you don’t have to peel anything anymore. Means fewer daily opportunities for kids to develop dexterity.”
  — Dr. Laura (07:27)

4. Intentional Parenting: Building Fine Motor Skills

• Dr. Laura emphasizes the need for intentional parental involvement to counteract passive modern lifestyles.

• She highlights several actionable strategies:

  • 1000 Hours Outside Challenge: Spend 1000 hours outside per year to build motor skills through activity and exploration (09:02).
  • Make Motor Skills Fun: Use playdough, cutting, sewing, puzzles instead of rote handwriting drills.
  • Bring Craft Supplies Everywhere: Recounts her own parenting—a “huge bag” of staplers, pens, scissors, colored papers, tape for creative play anywhere (10:03).
  • Model Desired Behavior: Adults should also be engaged in reading, crafting, and screen-free activities.
  • No-Screen Times: Tech-free mornings or bans after school.
  • Arts & Crafts Challenge: Set up spaces for freeform creative projects at home.
  • Hands-On Giving: Let kids help with wrapping presents, making cards, creating homemade gifts.

  “Model it. Try implanting tech free mornings or no screens after school. Create an arts and crafts challenge. Set up a table with supplies. Let kids create freely. No rules, just creativity.”
  — Dr. Laura (11:20)

5. Personal Anecdotes & the Value of Creative Freedom

• Dr. Laura shares stories about her own son’s creative play and the positive reactions (and surprises) of other parents.

  • She allowed her son to use scissors at a young age to build objects from paper, fostering manual dexterity, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

  “He knows how to use them and he knows how to be safe and he would make the wildest things... I swear he must have been thinking of Rambo way before Rambo ever happened.”
  — Dr. Laura (10:40)

6. Urgency and Final Perspective

• She warns that rapid cultural changes, especially those “not wonderful for human beings,” make deliberate effort at home more crucial than ever.

• Encourages parents to resist the passive drift toward screens and convenience.

  “The world is changing very fast and not necessarily in ways that are wonderful for human beings. Got to fight that and make it happen in your house.”
  — Dr. Laura (12:08)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There are all kinds of things for the rest of their lives they won't be easily readily able to do.”
  — Dr. Laura (06:58)

• “I'm staring at you now. Okay, no screen time.”
  — Dr. Laura (11:03) (playful moment calling out parents directly)

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Useful Timestamps

• 02:02: Fine motor decline, National Geographic study highlights.
• 04:20: Legos as positive example of motor skill-building.
• 07:27: Modern conveniences reduce opportunities for dexterity.
• 09:02: 1000 Hours Outside Challenge explained.
• 10:03: Personal parenting anecdotes on crafting and tool use.
• 11:20: Concrete strategies for parents (tech-free time, crafts, modeling).
• 12:08: Closing perspective on societal change and the need for parental action.

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Tone & Language

Dr. Laura maintains her signature tone—candid, practical, slightly humorous, and a bit no-nonsense, emphasizing both the gravity of the issue and the everyday things parents can do. Her insights blend research with relatable stories and actionable advice.

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Recap

This episode underscores the critical importance of intentional, hands-on experiences for developing children’s fine motor skills. Dr. Laura challenges parents to reclaim these essential lessons through creative freedom, outdoor play, and modeling engaged offline living—before the convenience of screens and pre-packaged everything makes dexterity a lost art.

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Transcript

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Sadly, we're not doing much with our kids that help them learn these motor skills which means there are all kinds of things for the rest of their lives they won't be easily readily able to do. So experts say it's a mix of factors where the fine motor skills are declining. Screen time crowding out, hands on activities. Reading for fun is declining. I know there are those screens that you can read books and just go and I have two of them, the second one because I got an upgrade and then I buy hardcover books, soft cover books so I can turn pages and point to things and go back and forth. That's fine motor skills believe it or not. Outdoor play collection stuff, digging the dirt, activities that build hand strength and coordination. We don't have kids doing that. We have elastic waist pants over buttons and zippers. Prepackaged snacks that replace pouring and peeling. Remember taking an orange, you don't have to peel anything anymore. Means fewer daily opportunities for kids to develop dexterity. So there are less hands on experience. Even having lunch at school. Think about that. They just and everything's already cut, diced, displayed for them. So how to help kids build fine motor skills. It takes intention which means you parents have to not be so involved in your work and social life and get involved in this. Try the 1000 hours outside challenge. The idea is simple. Spend 1000 hours outside in a year. It's an antidote to screens, natural way to build motor skills. Climbing, playing, exploring make fine motor fun. Instead of forcing just handwriting practice, incorporate playdough, cutting, sewing puzzles in everyday play. That's really cool. I'm feeling way ahead of this and how I raised my son because I would have a huge bag of staplers, pens, scissors, paper, colored paper, all kinds of crayons, all kinds of tape. And so when I took them any place because just like Lily now, I used to take my kid everywhere and I'd set him up on a table and he would spread all this out and he was just like four when I did this. He was a little kid and people would go you, you let him have scissors? Yeah, he knows how to use them and he knows how to be safe and he would make the wildest things talk about boy toys and girl toys. He would make. He would take. You know how you take paper and you cut it into strips and make a circle and tape it and then you'd put them together so you make a whole string of them with circles. And I swear he must have been thinking of Rambo way before Rambo over happened. But he'd use that as. As ammunition and then he'd build a gun. Who knows where he even learned this. We watched very few movies like that. I think it's in the male DNA. But he would make all kinds of incredible things. Manual dexterity, thinking, creating, big bag of stuff. When you go to a restaurant, pull some of that. You can't pull all of this out, but you can pull smaller things out. He can. Your kid can. Even your boy or girl can even be sitting there painting on little figures. How come you don't do more of that? I'm staring at you now. Okay, no screen time. If we want kids to read more, play more, build stronger skills, we have to model it. Try implanting tech free mornings or no screens after school. Create an arts and crafts challenge. Set up a table with supplies. Let kids create freely. No rules, just creativity. Encourage hands on giving. This I like. This was cute. Have kids help wrap presents, write birthday cards, or make homemade gifts. These activities double as fine motor workouts. The world is changing very fast and not necessarily in ways that are wonderful for human beings. Got to fight that and make it happen in your house. Okay, my number, 1-800-375-2872. If you like this podcast, be sure to rate it on Apple podcasts or your favorite place to listen to my podcasts. Of course, I'd love if you gave me five stars. And be sure to share this podcast with a friend on Facebook or your preferred social media platform.

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