Fine Motor with Two Year Olds

I've written so many posts on how to build fine motor skills here, here and here, but it's time for some examples of why it's important.

This is a favorite game around here. It's a fruit stand and they use the tweezers to pick out certain pieces trying to prevent the other pieces from falling off. It can be adjusted to different angles to increase the difficulty. My kids have no idea that this builds fine motor skills. They just like playing with miniature fruit. How directly does this translate to a "real life" skill?

 

Blurry cell phone photos demonstrate using this exact skill in a Chinese restaurant. Their technique still needs more work, but how many toddlers in America do you know that eat this way? For the record, I still use a fork to eat, but my kids insist on using the "chopping sticks."

Cutting skills are also all based on fine motor. I was laughing with someone the other day because according to the developmental guidelines scissors should not be introduced until 3 and if a child isn't proficient at cutting on a straight line by that time they are considered behind. How can you be proficient at a skill that hasn't been introduced? We clearly introduced it before the kids were 3 and I'm good with that. We started with just cutting paper - snipping mostly. Sweet son figured out cutting across the paper first, but they were both able to cut on a line by the time they turned 3.