Fine Motor Skills

birth to 1 month

reflexive ulnar grasp

2 months

● attempts to bring hand to mouth

● begins to bat at hanging objects

● involuntary release

3 months

● ulnar grasp reflex disappearing

● beginning of voluntary grasp

● attempts to reach and grasp but unable to pick up objects

4 months

● voluntary ulnar and grasp developing

● reaches for and grasps objects

● brings hands together at midline

5 months

● grasps object with whole hand and explores objects

● beginning to release and transfer objects from hand to hand

6 months

● radial palmar grasp emerging

● transfers objects from hand to hand

● reaches for toys with one or both hands

7 months

● attempts to grasp objects using raking motions

● holds two objects simultaneously, may hit them together

8 months

● lateral pinch developing

● can pick up a string

9 months

● inferior pincer grasp (pad-to-pad prehension)

● voluntary release of objects

● bangs objects together

10 months

● three-jaw chuck grasp (tripod grasp) developing

● removes objects from containers

● carries two small objects in one hand

11 months

● tip pinch (tip-to-tip) or superior pincer grasp emerging

● picks up tiny objects

11 months

● lifts lid from boxes

● turns pages of book

12 – 15 months

● superior pincer grasp (tip-to-tip) established

● puts / removes objects from containers

12 – 15 months

● stacks rings

● opens and closes things

15 – 18 months

● uses and reaches with preferred hand

● builds tower with 4 blocks

15 – 18 months

● puts / removes objects from narrow bottle

● makes spontaneous marks with crayons

● dominance of the child's hand is not final during this time

18 – 24 months

● finger-to-palm translation

● puts pegs in holes

● scribbles using a primitive grasp

Finger-to-palm translation

moving the coin from your fingers towards your palm without the other hand helping

Scribbles

child will write randomly on the walls, uses primitive grasp