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Growing Hands-On Kids

Growing Hands-On Kids

Child Development Tips, Tools, and Strategies

You are here: Home / Hands-On Activities / 15 Hands-On Activities to Promote Pincer Grasp

15 Hands-On Activities to Promote Pincer Grasp

January 18, 2018 By Heather Greutman 1 Comment

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15 Hands-On Activities to Promote Pincer Grasp

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“How do I get my child to hold a pencil correctly?” I often receive this question from readers, especially parents. A large component of handwriting is how a child is holding the pencil while they write. But did you know the building blocks for pencil grasp start when a baby is just a few months old? So what can you do to help support this skill in your child or students? Using hands-on activities to promote pincer grasp is a great place to start!

15 Hands-On Activities to Promote Pincer Grasp

Before I suggest some fun activity ideas, I want to explain what pincer grasp is and when it develops.

What is Pincer Grasp?

Pincer grasp is a hand grasp that develops around the time a baby is 8-10 months old. This grasp corresponds to the time a baby is beginning to feed themselves finger foods. The pincer grasp is needed in order to grasp a small item, pinch it between the index and thumb and bring it to the mouth.

You will notice from the picture below that there are two types of pincer grasp, the inferior pincer grasp, and the regular pincer grasp. The Inferior pincer grasp uses the pads of the index and thumb for grasping. The pincer grasp uses the tips of the index and thumb fingers for grasping.

For the point of this post, we will be focusing on the pincer grasp. You can read more about the inferior pincer grasp in my typical pencil grasp development article HERE.

Inferior pincer and pincer grasp, typical pencil grasp development in children.

For pencil grasp, the pincer grasp is needed for a static and dynamic tripod grasp while holding a pencil. You will notice the open “web space” that the pencil rests in when writing (shown below). This is how you will want a pincer grasp to look (shown above).

Dynamic Tripod Grasp

Hands-On Activities to Promote Pincer Grasp

There are lots of fun ways you can promote good pincer grasp with older children and students. Including these types of fine motor activities into a child's day help promote strong finger and hand muscles needed for future handwriting (and really any life skill!).

Activities to Promote Pincer Grasp for Baby

If you have a baby who is in the age range for developing pincer grasp (8-10 months) old, there are some great ways you can help to encourage this grasp.

|| PLAYING WITH BLOCKS 

Introducing blocks of various sizes and textures encourages your baby to grasp items with their hands and explore with their mouths. I prefer wooden blocks myself since they provide more sensory input than plastic. But having a variety of textures is great too!

Baby with soft blocks, Activities to Promote Pincer Grasp.

|| INTRODUCING FINGER FOODS

Make sure your baby is ready for finger foods before introducing them, but encouraging finger foods like circle shape cereal or puffs are a great way to encourage the skill of grasping smaller objects.

|| TURNING PAGES OF A BOARD BOOK

Board books are a great start to encourage language skills as well as pinching the pages to turn them. As your baby masters board books, start introducing books with thinner pages to perfect this skill.

Activities to Promote Pincer Grasp for Toddlers & Preschoolers

When your baby gets to be 2 years or older, so you can really amp up the pincer grasp activities to include smaller objects that aren't edible. Of course, you need to be close by and monitor your young toddler or preschooler to make sure they don't put small items into their mouth. With my own kids, I have found age 2 to be a good age to introduce items such as larger pom-poms and beads.

|| POM-POM TRANSFER

Pom-poms are so fun and colorful! You can use them in crafts or transfer between containers. Here is a picture of my 2-year old using a silicone candy tray to transfer pom-poms into. We even added some very basic color recognition and patterns with this.

  • Pom-Pom Transfer Activity for Toddlers 
  • 2 Pincer Grasp Activities for Toddlers

Pom-pom transfer activity for pincer grasp.

|| TONGS

Adding tongs into an activity is a great way to encourage a good pincer grasp and tripod grasp for handwriting. I like using tongs for the pom-pom transfer activity I mentioned above. Check below for some of my tong recommendations.

  • 5 Fun Activities for Pincer Grasp

5 fun activities for pincer grasp practice with preschoolers.

|| CLOTHESPINS

Pinching clothespins is a great way to strengthen the fingers needed for the pincer grasp. You can even find clothespins that have to require various amounts of “squeezing” to open them.

  • Clothespin Emotions Activity Chart

5 fun activities for pincer grasp practice with preschoolers.

 

|| PLAYDOUGH

Playing with play dough (or slime, oobleck, or clay) is a great way to promote pincer grasp. You can form lines, shapes, animals, numbers, have them create their own designs, or use play dough mats.

|| SEARCH AND FIND ACTIVITIES

I love putting items into sensory play mediums like play dough, slime, oobleck or moon sand and asking the kids to search and find them. If you use a thicker medium like play dough or slime, the child needs to dig the items out and this is great strengthening for the fingers and pincers. 5 fun and hands-on ways to play with slime.

|| STRINGING BEADS 

Stringing beads is a harder skill since it requires both hands to be pinching at the same time (one holding the string and one holding the beads). This makes it an excellent activity for bilateral coordination and crossing midline. Young toddlers can also practice this using larger beads and thicker string such as a shoelace or yarn.

Letter T activities, stringing train beads.

|| BEADS OR MARBLE TRANSFER 

This activity works great with using tongs or fingers. Just set up two containers, one with a smaller opening such as an old milk bottle or drink bottle. Have the child pick up one marble or bead at a time and drop it into the container. Marble runs would also be a great addition to this.

|| PEELING STICKERS 

Who doesn't love stickers? Peeling stickers from a sticker book or doing a craft activity with them is great pincer grasp practice. We use sticker books for our quiet bag at church too. Lots of great things you can do with them.

|| LACING CARDS 

Lacing cards are similar to stringing beads in that they use bilateral coordination and crossing midline. It's also a great visual motor activity as well as pincer grasp practice.

Owl lacing card for letter O activities for tot-school

Activities to Promote Pincer Grasp for Older Children

|| NUTS AND BOLTS

I prefer using real items to pretend plastic ones, which is why I suggest nuts and bolts for older children (6+). However, there are plastic versions of these that you can introduce sooner if you like. It's a great way to incorporate some practical life work along with pincer grasp practice that is age appropriate.

|| CROCHETING 

Crocheting is a higher level skill that involves following a pattern, directions, bilateral coordination, crossing midline, and better finger manipulation. It's a great way to practice pincer grasp by using the needles and holding the yarn for older children.

|| BOARD GAMES & PLAYING CARDS

There are so many great board games out there. Many of them require smaller pieces that need to be moved down the board while playing. Card games such as UNO are also great age-appropriate activities for practicing pincer grasp with older kids.

Recommended Toys And Tools for Pincer Grasp

Here are some of the toys and tools I mentioned above in the activities to promote pincer grasp. These links will lead you to Amazon.

 

Learning Resources Jumbo Tweezers Set Of 12Learning Resources Jumbo Tweezers Set Of 12Learning Resources Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set, 4 PiecesLearning Resources Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set, 4 Pieces3 CHUNKY Safety Plastic Tongs/Tweezers for Children - Fine Motor Tools, Occupational Therapy, Special Needs, Sensory Bin, Preschool Tools3 CHUNKY Safety Plastic Tongs/Tweezers for Children – Fine Motor Tools, Occupational Therapy, Special Needs, Sensory Bin, Preschool ToolsSet of 5 Handy Scoopers Tongs and Tweezers for Children - Fine Motor Tools, Occupational Therapy, Special Needs, Sensory Bin, Preschool ToolsSet of 5 Handy Scoopers Tongs and Tweezers for Children – Fine Motor Tools, Occupational Therapy, Special Needs, Sensory Bin, Preschool ToolsFarm SticksFarm SticksAdapt-Ease Grasp and Match Occupational Therapy, Fine Motor SkillAdapt-Ease Grasp and Match Occupational Therapy, Fine Motor SkillAdapt-Ease Resistance Pinch Exerciser Finger Grip Strengthening ClothespinsAdapt-Ease Resistance Pinch Exerciser Finger Grip Strengthening ClothespinsAdapt-Ease Resistive Grasp and Pinch Exerciser Therapy SetAdapt-Ease Resistive Grasp and Pinch Exerciser Therapy SetAdapt-Ease Grasp & Match ABC Alligator Therapy Life Skill GameAdapt-Ease Grasp & Match ABC Alligator Therapy Life Skill GameSilicone Chocolate Molds & Candy Molds - Ankway Set of 3 Non Stick BPA Free Flexible Hearts, Stars & Shells Mini Wax Molds (15 Cups)Silicone Chocolate Molds & Candy Molds – Ankway Set of 3 Non Stick BPA Free Flexible Hearts, Stars & Shells Mini Wax Molds (15 Cups)Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Pad: My Town - 200+ Stickers and 5 ScenesMelissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Pad: My Town – 200+ Stickers and 5 ScenesFirst 100 Words Sticker Book: Over 500 Stickers (Play and Learn)First 100 Words Sticker Book: Over 500 Stickers (Play and Learn)Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Pads Set: Play House and Habitats - 325 StickersMelissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Pads Set: Play House and Habitats – 325 StickersMelissa & Doug Primary Lacing Beads with 30 Beads and 2 lacesMelissa & Doug Primary Lacing Beads with 30 Beads and 2 lacesJumbo Lacing & Stringing Wooden Beads Animals with String Packaged with Metal Box | Montessori Toddler Preschool Fine Motor Skills Toys for Occupational Therapy and Autism OTJumbo Lacing & Stringing Wooden Beads Animals with String Packaged with Metal Box | Montessori Toddler Preschool Fine Motor Skills Toys for Occupational Therapy and Autism OTBest Jumbo Stringing Beads & Nuts and Bolts for Smart Boys and Girls by Kids Korner - Primary Lacing Bead Toy & Matching Fine Motor Skills Set with Toy Storage Montessori Occupational Therapy ToysBest Jumbo Stringing Beads & Nuts and Bolts for Smart Boys and Girls by Kids Korner – Primary Lacing Bead Toy & Matching Fine Motor Skills Set with Toy Storage Montessori Occupational Therapy ToysLearning Resources Beads and Pattern Card SetLearning Resources Beads and Pattern Card SetMelissa & Doug Bead Bouquet Deluxe Wooden Bead Set With 220+ Beads for Jewelry-MakingMelissa & Doug Bead Bouquet Deluxe Wooden Bead Set With 220+ Beads for Jewelry-MakingMelissa & Doug Lace and Trace Activity Set: 5 Wooden Panels and 5 Matching Laces - PetsMelissa & Doug Lace and Trace Activity Set: 5 Wooden Panels and 5 Matching Laces – PetsMelissa & Doug Alphabet Wooden Lacing Cards With Double-Sided Panels and Matching LacesMelissa & Doug Alphabet Wooden Lacing Cards With Double-Sided Panels and Matching Laces

 

Need more idea like this one? Check out my resources below.

Follow Heather | Growing Hands-On Kids's board Fine Motor Activities Prek & Up on Pinterest.
You May Also Like:

 

DIY Fine Motor Toolkit, perfect for home, classrooms, or therapy rooms.

  • DIY Fine Motor Toolkit – Free Printable
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  • Which Fine Motor Skills Are Important for Handwriting 
  • 5 Tips for Correcting Your Child's Pencil Grasp

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Filed Under: Hands-On Activities Tagged With: Fine Motor, For Parents, For Teachers, For Therapists, Writing Activities

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CONTENT DISCLAIMER: Heather Greutman is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. All information on the Website is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice from a physician or your pediatrician. Please consult with a medical professional if you suspect any medical or developmental issues with your child. The information on the Websites does not replace the relationship between therapist and client in a one-on-one treatment session with an individualized treatment plan based on their professional evaluation. The information provided on the Website is provided “as is” without any representations or warranties, express or implied. Do not rely on the information on the Website as an alternative to advice from your medical professional or healthcare provider. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment as a result of any information provided on the Website. All medical information on the Website is for informational purposes only. All activities outlined on the Website are designed for completion with adult supervision. Please use your own judgment with your child and do not provide objects that could pose a choking hazard to young children. Never leave a child unattended during these activities. Please be aware of and follow all age recommendations on all products used in these activities. Growing Hands-On Kids is not liable for any injury when replicating any of the activities found on this blog. YOUR RESPONSIBILITY The Website was developed strictly for informational purposes. You understand and agree that you are fully responsible for your use of the information provided on the Website. Growing Hands-On Kids makes no representations, warranties or guarantees. You understand that results may vary from person to person. Growing Hands-On Kids assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions that may appear in the Website.

Comments

  1. Diana Fitts says

    January 19, 2018 at 12:12 pm

    Great ideas! I find that people often get intimidated by the thought of working on fine motor skills and pincer grasp, but there are some very simple and practical activities that work on these skills. You’ve done a great job of highlighting how easy it can be to incorporate fine motor activities into the daily routine.
    Best,
    Diana

    Reply

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