Teddy eyes the plump,
blue berries setting on his high chair tray. His eyes brighten and he reaches
forward and using his thumb and forefinger struggles to secure a berry in his
grasp. The berry rolls at first and he chases it with his hand and tries to capture
the evasive berry. The tasty fruit finally is trapped against the lip of the
tray and Teddy is able to retrieve the blueberry and pop it into his mouth. An expression of amazement and delight floods Teddy’s face. Having succeeded once, Teddy is on a roll, quickly he hovers his hand over the blueberries deciding which one to select next. This time the pincer movement is more automatic and less concentration is needed as he successfully grasps the prize and joyfully eats it.
Coordination and control of muscles and nerves are needed to
carry out the pincer grasp skill. This will take practice. Just as you cannot
type without practice so certain skills will need a bit of time. Your baby will
begin to pick up bigger items, then downsize until eventually they are grasping
smaller berry size items. The thrill of success increases if a juicy berry or
something equally yummy is the reward to be thrust into the waiting mouth. Not only is the pincer grasp good for putting food into the
mouth, it is also needed to button shirts, hold a crayon, zip a zipper, cut
with scissors, sew with a needle and thread and many skills your child will
need in life. What to do?
Playing with toys that a baby can manipulate are perfect for
little finger practice; toys that have cogs to twist, buttons to push and items
to grasp and move around. Give Teddy balls to squeeze, to aid in building the
strength of those muscles.
Little Teddy will continue to struggle with aspects
of these skills for some time to come, but little by little, those muscles will
become stronger and the coordination more precise and next thing you know he
will be typing a hundred words per minute on the computer; or flying a rocket
to the moon.
Little Teddy will continue to struggle with aspects
of these skills for some time to come, but little by little, those muscles will
become stronger and the coordination more precise and next thing you know he
will be typing a hundred words per minute on the computer; or flying a rocket
to the moon.
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