Pincer Grasp Activities

 

When a child holds a small object between the tips of the index finger and thumbs, this is called a superior or refined pincer grasp. The superior pincer grasp typically develops by 12 months of age, but it may develop a few months earlier in some babies.

 

Pincer Grasp Activities

 

Incorporating activates into an infant’s regular routine is a great was to help develop the pincer grasp. At snack time, provide small food items such as Cheerios and put each piece into a different section of a plastic ice tray. This will encourage baby to use a pincer grasp when reaching in to grasp the pieces. I would recommend taping the ice tray to the table or highchair tray so it doesn’t slide around. Here are a few more activities to help develop a pincer grasp.

 

1.     Peel off stickers small “kids” stickers and place them on a piece of paper.

2.     Tape a piece of contact paper to the wall with the sticky side facing outward. Have your child pick up small pom poms or cotton ball pieces and stick them to the contact paper.

3.     Cut several colorful straws into small pieces. Have the child pick up one piece at a time and drop it into a water bottle.

4.     Take a kitchen whisk and stuff it full of small pom poms and have your child remove them.

5.     Playing with toys that require a pincer grasp provides opportunities for practicing the skill, which is how motor learning occurs. Practices improves muscle strength and coordination, and it will also improve your little one’s confidence!

OT Activity for Pincer Grasp

I ran across this activity kit at Michael's craft store, and the OT in me couldn't resist! As you can see, it's called fun fusion, and the kit consists of tiny beads and several tiny pegboards that come in different forms, such as the form of a dog, cat, fish, or monkey. (Also available at Amazon)

The child uses a pincer grasp to place the beads on the pegboard. The pegboard actually comes with several small pieces of ironing paper, and after the beads are in place, an adult can "iron" them on permanently. HOWEVER, we skipped that step!
 

I had the students practice making glue dots...placing a glue dot on each of the pegboard points. This was VERY challenging, and many of the students needed help (that's why I didn't get a picture!)

The students then picked up the tiny beads and placed them on the points of the pegboard that had the glue dots.

It was hard work, and it took several therapy sessions for some of them to finish, but the completed product was worth all of the hard work.



How cute is this?   :)

The best part is that the kids LOVED them! 

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Fun Fine Motor Activity

Today I tried an activity that turned out to be great fun, and I'm excited to share it with you. Here's what you'll need:
1)  Construction paper
2)  A 3-hole punch
3) A blank piece of paper or paper with designs, shapes, or letters on it
4) A glue stick or bottle of glue

• Begin by having the child use both hands to punch holes in various colors of construction paper using the 3-hole punch. This is great for arm and hand strengthening. 
• Remove the construction paper "dots" from the hole punch.
• Take the paper with the design, shape, letter or number and have the child outline the design by gluing the "dots" onto it. This is great for fine motor skills, and especially addresses the child's pincer grasp.

• You can also have the child use blank paper and form their own letters, shapes, numbers, or designs. Just use your imagination!

• Have Fun!