Have you been overlooking your child's grasp? Here, have a second look.
By: Umm Ahlaam
Tags: Parenting, Child Development, Baby, Fine Motor Skills, Milestones

The first, wobbly footsteps. The first word, uttered alongside babbles. The first scribble, of letters. These are some of the most precious and anticipated moments for any parent. They are major milestones; important events in the development of your child. However, today we are going to dive a little deeper and focus on the journey of your child’s grasping adventures.

Have you seen how a climber plant can reach a beautiful height and grow elegantly, just with a little support provided? On similar grounds, we will also go through how you can play a supportive role and help your child achieve each stage at his/her own pace.

Let's start from the most primitive grasp, one that every one of us is well acquainted with and makes us all go mushy on the inside! When a baby immediately wraps all fingers around your finger or an object placed in his/her palm. It's called as the Palmer reflex. This automatic response ( i.e. reflex) goes away naturally around 4 months of age.

Typically, around 4 to 6 months this reflex progresses into a voluntary (conscious) grasp. While trying to pick up objects, your child will soon start using his/her "little finger" side of the hand and then gradually start use the central portion of his/her palm. At this particular stage (Palmer grasp), the thumb is not used yet. This is because the muscle development in your child’s hand is taking place steadily, from larger muscle to smaller, finer ones.

Be careful of the size of objects/toys, you keep around your child, at each stage, for both safety and developmental appropriateness.

Typically, by 6 to 7 months, your child should begin to use his/her thumb while picking up objects. Initially, there will be no open space between the object your child is grasping and his/her palm (called as radial Palmer grasp). However, around 8 to 9 months, this grasp becomes more precise and definite finger movements are required and utilized (now called as radial digital grasp). Instead of making use of the entire palm your child will now use his/her fingertips to pick up objects. This is a very important development for transition onto the next grasp.

When your child starts to voluntarily use his/her thumb, encourage it! You could do this by gently, placing the thumb of your child on the opposite side of the object in their grasp. Strengthening the thumb is vital for upcoming activities they'll be taught (E.g. coloring, dressing up etc).

You could make a block tower/ complete a puzzle (as they wont be able to make one by themselves, at this age) and ask them to remove some blocks/pieces from it. You could start by demonstrating it before asking them to do the same.

By 9 months, your child will be able to pick up objects of small sizes using only the side of the side of the index finger and thumb, while supporting his/her arm on the table/surface (called immature Pincer grasp). However, this grasp matures by 12 months, and you'll notice your child picking up small object with the tips of the thumb and index finger, while holding the forearm off the surface (now called mature Pincer grasp).

Now, instead of just being able to pick up objects from flat surfaces, your child will be able to, put their hands in a container and make use of their fingertips to pick objects up.

To encourage and strengthen this grasp, you could make your child practice picking up small objects from one container and dropping them into another container (for E.g. breakfast loops). This must be done under supervision, however, to avoid choking hazard.

When your child is around 12 months/1 year of age, he will be able to extend his index finger to point at objects. This is called as index finger isolation. This is also an important developmental skill for daily activities, later on in life (E.g expressing something they want, pointing at a picture book,etc).

Each stage is very essential for the optimal development of your child. The age group marked for each stage must be used as reference purpose only, as each child develops at their own pace, so a little bit back and forth between timelines shouldn't be worrisome. What you can do, however, is provide a more stimulating environment that caters to their development stage.

Reference for this information was taken from www.childsplaytherapycenter.com