Fine Motor Friday - Scissor Skills

UPDATE:
I realized after talking to a couple of OT friends I should include pictures of a mature scissor grasp and what I am looking for long term. Note the "thumbs up" position with fingers in the holes of the scissors. Also note the position of the paper - the paper should be positioned to "meet" the scissors not the reverse.





Occupational Therapists study occupation. What is the occupation of a child? Simply put, it's play. Learning and growing in the area of fine motor development is crucial to a child's development of play and ultimately helps facilitate their later ability to be a successful student.

Fine motor development goes hand in hand with sensory play (or sensory development). Getting messy, exploring different textures, sensations, feelings, etc. is all part of using our hands in different ways and supports fine motor skills. So get messy!

By profession, I'm a pediatric occupational therapist although I spend pretty much all my time being a mom. As Boo nears 3 years old it is getting easier to pull out some of my work stuff and start working on fine motor skills. It helps me too because I get to dust off those distance corners of my brain and start thinking OT again. Let's explore development and have some fun.

Typical two hand closure of regular classroom scissors.

Another form of two hand closure

SCISSOR SKILLS:
There are so many components to the act of opening and closing scissors. Visual motor integration (using eyes and hand movements together cooperatively), bilateral hand use (using the hands together to use scissors and hold the paper) and in-hand manipulation (the act of opening and closing the scissors) just to name a few.

Even in a child with typical development of muscle control, tone and fine and visual motor skills, cutting is tricky. In the pictures above you see Boo using two hands to open and close regular classroom scissors. This is pretty typical for a 2 1/2 year old (and fairly typical for a child that has not been exposed to much scissor practice... guilty!!). By 2 years of age many children can make snips with scissors and as they near 2 1/2 to 3 years they should be cutting across shorter lengths of paper. Remember development is a continuum so some children may be doing more and some may be doing less. It has a lot to do with attention, exposure to the task and interest. In general, I have found girls to be slightly more attentive to fine motor activities. Repetition is key and so is finding the "just right" challenge.

Scissor skills are especially hard because scissors are often viewed as dangerous and off limits. Rightfully so, scissors are sharp but with supervision and good instruction they can be fun. Here are some scissor options (please note the regular classroom scissors are pictured above):

These are self opening scissors and are great for early scissor skills. The child just has to push the loops together to close and with their release the scissors open again.

I have these scissors too - they are supposed to help position the fingers... I have mixed reviews.

These are spring loaded self opening scissors. They work a lot better than the first pair but are VERY sharp. They are also not available at Target or drugstores but have to be ordered from a specialty catalog. I think the regular scissors work well but self opening can be good to reduce frustration in the beginning. Cutting playdoh and straws is also super fun and easy!!

As with any fine motor task a good base is important. Sitting at a table that allows their feet to be supported and helps provide a stable base of trunk support is a great start. I like to refer to the 90-90-90 rule - hips at 90 degrees, knees at 90 and ankles at 90.


PRE SCISSOR SKILLS:
Warm ups are a great way to activate muscles you will be using later for an activity. For scissor skills I often use clothespins, tongs or marbles. These are also great activities to work on if cutting is too difficult for your child and/ or becomes too frustrating. They will allow more independence and success while using the same muscles.

Note: Boo is attempting to place the clothespin backwards on the CD - very typical. Encourage your child to use their fingers (versus their whole hand) to close the back of the clothespin and "eat" the CD with the front of the clothespin. This strengthens muscles used for pencil grasp as well.

Who doesn't have kitchen tongs laying around? Bring them out and whatever small items you have laying around. This is a great activity to practice opening and closing movements very similar to opening and closing scissors.

Lots of fun!!

Ah the marbles.... a favorite. I bought this container at Home Depot (it's used to store nails or screws. They come in a variety of sizes and colors). Encourages bilateral hand use and pincer grasp... maybe more of a good pre writing activity but still great in-hand manipulation.