When we think about movement skills for our babies, we tend to think about gross motor milestones like crawling and walking. However, developing your baby’s hand strength is just as significant. When your baby can use their hands to manipulate things, it opens a new world of discovery!
“What the hand does the mind remembers,” –Dr. Maria Montessori
Here’s a general overview of 10 key hand skills in the first year:
Reaching, batting with arms (2.5 months+)
Grasping (this develops in many stages from a whole-hand grasp (3-4 months+) to a more precise pincer grasp (8 months+) that allows them to pick up tiny objects between thumb and forefinger).
Can hold onto items (4 months+)
Can rotate their wrists (6 months+)
Can transfer items from one hand to another (6 months+)
Voluntarily drops / releases things (9 months+)
Can take items out of containers (10 months+)
Can hold a spoon (9-12 months+)
Can bang two toys together (9-12 months+)
Can use both hands together to play (11-12 months+)
For context, your baby’s hand skills start with gross motor before moving into the smaller precisions of fine motor. How well their bigger muscles work will impact success with smaller movements. So, both are important!
Keep in mind, fine motor skills aren’t just for babies. After your little one’s first birthday, they will continue to refine these skills. It takes years for hand strength to fully develop before they can do things like self-dressing or handwriting, but these early stages are essential building blocks.