Pincer Grasp

PAP179

I know you can't "teach" them to get the pincer grasp - but, is there anything you can do to help them along? Like what type of finger foods help to promote this?  My LO is ten months old and cannot figure out that the puffs I put on his tray are the same ones that he loves so much when I feed them to him!

susanmosley

Does he use just his pointer finger and thumb to grab tags, pick up lint off of the floor, pull at ribbons, etc?  or no pincer grasp yet at all?  If you hand a puff to his hand, what does he do?

PAP179

If I hand him a puff he will open and close his hand as it sticks to his skin. Then it usually ends up on the floor! If I hand him a ritz cracker - it usually gets crushed in his hand...

susanmosley

I think you just have to keep trying/practicing and also find toys that facilitate a smaller grasp - strings, ribbons, etc (obviously supervised).  Sorry I am not more help.  GL

ncbelle

Kiddo has almost got the pincer grasp down - we are doing baby led weaning so he's been self feeding since we started solids a few weeks ago.  Just the practice of trying to pick up different shapes and sizes made a huge difference in his ability to pick things up.  We started with big chunks that he could hold in his fist but he has managed to do smaller bits as well.

Maybe start with giving him some foods he can pick up so he gets the idea that he can feed himself.  Then give him progressively smaller things?

tmp-759026187508088

You can teach the baby to use his pincer grasp.  I am an Early Intervention Specialist and this is something that I do often with my job.  Use different toys that are small and try different things like: cheerio book- you buy cheerios and then try and get him to either put them in or take them out.  I would use hand over hand assistance to start out with and show him with your hand how he can pick it up.  Also, try and get him to play pianos, etc so that he gets used to using fingers instead of his palms.  If you were really concerned, there are early intervention programs in all states and you could get an assessment done or an occupational therapist could evaluate him.  You probably arent this concerned, but I thought I would try and help.  Good luck!