Play and Hand Skills

Effective hand skills are required for the development of important activities in a child’s life. These include crayon, chalk and pencil skills, scissor skills, manipulating toys effectively and developing independence in tasks such as managing zips on a coat and managing cutlery.

There are many reasons why children have difficulty developing these skills; including movement and coordination challenges, learning disabilities and developmental delay.

What you may observe:

> Your child may not be able to use their hands easily to play.
> Your child may get frustrated trying to do something with their hands.
> You may observe a poor or loose grip.
> They may use their whole hand to hold something small.
> They may have difficulty pointing or grasping using the index, thumb and middle finger.

These play activities have been put together to improve your child’s hand skills. They can be done in any order and should ideally be practised 3 times a week for 15minutes.

Some information for this webpage has been drafted using resources from Greater Glasgow and Clyde Children’s Services

Palmar Grasp

A Palmar grasp is the first grasp to develop. It involves bringing the fingers towards the palm, allowing you to grab an object or toy.

These play activities have been put together to improve your child’s hand skills. They can be done in any order and should ideally be practised 3 times a week for 15minutes:

> Squeezing water from sponges at bath time or in water play.
> Posting toys such as shape sorters.
> Squeezing Playdoh or other items.
> Scrunching up paper balls.
> Stacking blocks one on top of another.

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Cylinder Grasp

The cylinder grasp is the next grasp to develop. This involves the movement of the wrist and is when the whole hand is in contact with an object, and curved with thumb opposition.

These play activities have been put together to improve your child’s hand skills. They can be done in any order and should ideally be practised 3 times a week for 15minutes:

> Pushing and pulling toys such as prams etc.
> Playing ‘Row, row, row your boat’ holding a long cardboard roll.
> Tug of war games.
> Tipping water from a beaker during bath or water play.
> Holding on to the swing.
> Holding on to the handles of a trike or pedal car.

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Finger Isolation

Finger isolation refers to the ability to point with one finger at a time.

These play activities have been put together to improve your child’s hand skills. They can be done in any order and should ideally be practised 3 times a week for 15minutes:

> Singing and doing the actions to ‘Two Little Dickie Birds’.
> Drawing in shaving foam or spray cream with fingers.
> Flicking a ping pong ball or cotton wool ball with the fingers.
> Playing with finger puppets.
> Rhymes like ‘Round and Round the Garden’ or ‘Incy Wincy Spider’.
> Playing with a toy keyboard or press button toy.
> Dialling the numbers on toy telephones.
> Poking holes into Playdoh with fingers

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Pincer Grasp

The pincer grip is a refined movement, we use it to pick up, hold and release small objects. This is essential to learn skills such as managing buttons, tying shoe laces, handwriting and using scissors.

These play activities have been put together to improve your child’s hand skills. They can be done in any order and should ideally be practised 3 times a week for 15minutes:

> Pop bubble wrap paper.
> Place small pegs into a peg board.
> Placing plastic coins in a money box.
> Picking up chocolate buttons/raisins off the table.
> Small handled inset puzzles.
> Opening and closing clothes pegs.
> Use tongs/tweezers to pick up small objects and place them in a container.
> Threading beads.
> Construction activities e.g. lego.
> Board games with small counters e.g. connect 4, kerplunk, battleships.
> Craft activities.

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Hand Arches

The development of hand arches helps to shape the hand while holding objects. This allows the hand to make more refined movements through the fingers, apply the correct pressure and use the right amount of strength.

These play activities have been put together to improve your child’s hand skills. They can be done in any order and should ideally be practised 3 times a week for 15minutes:

> Cutting Playdoh using a knife or pizza slice.
> Using a turkey baster to blow ping pong or cotton wool balls across the table.
> Using tweezers or salad tongs to pick up objects.
> Games with clothes pegs.
> Squeezing games with Playdoh and sponges.

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Using Both Hands

Strategies for babies who are not yet sitting

> Make sure your baby is comfortable, has the right amount of support and is developmentally ready. A baby who is learning to lift their head up while lying on their tummy will not be ready to reach out for toys as well.
> Make sure you have picked the right time a’0nd that your baby is alert.
> Turn off distractions such as the TV and music.
> Give them an object – something that is easy to see and without complicated patterns.
> Help your baby by gently guiding their hands or their arms at the shoulders to the object so they know what movement or action you are encouraging. Let their hands go and then help them find their way there again, hopefully giving less and less help each time.
> Try using toys with a variety of textures and watch to see if your baby has any preferences.
> Always encourage your baby to use both arms, initially together. Then alternate using left and right sides. If you are doing this in side lying, then make sure your baby lies on both sides.

Strategies for babies who are sitting up

> Make sure your baby has enough support and they are developmentally ready. If they are just learning to sit unsupported, they will not be ready to reach out as well. You may need to go back to floor play or make the activity easier until they are ready.
> Present each toy or object in their reach and at the right height. If your baby is sitting on the floor between your legs, you could make or use a small table to place things on. Alternatively, the high chair with a tray may be suitable.
> Make sure your baby can clearly see what to reach for. If the surface is cluttered, it may be difficult to see.
> Guide your baby’s hands to the object, supporting them at the elbow or shoulder. This gives them the sensation of the movement you want them to make. Give them time to practise. Take your hands off and allow them time to try and find the object again before offering your hands to help, hopefully giving less and less help each time.
> Hold the objects or toys out to both their left and right sides and in the middle. Watch which hand they prefer to grasp with.
> Offer toys of varying sizes. This will encourage them to use both hands, for example, a beach ball or large cuddly toy.

Strategies for children

These play activities have been put together to improve your child’s hand skills. They can be done in any order and should ideally be practised 3 times a week for 15minutes:

> Catching a balloon.
> Hitting a balloon with a rolling pin held with both hands.
> Catching beanbags and large balls.
> Toys that involve pushing and pulling with both hands.
> Interlocking barrels/Russian dolls.
> Rolling play dough with a rolling pin.
> Duplo, Megablocks.
> Play dough, plasticine, pastry. This can be cut, rolled into balls or sausages with the fingers, cut up with pastry cutters into different shapes, including letter shapes.
> Papier-mâché modelling i.e. around balloon shapes, modelling clay- fun, messy and helps strengthen fingers.
> Printing using potatoes or printing sticks or fingers using thickened paint (paint thickened with corn flour).
> Puppet play using finger puppets, or draw faces on fingertips. Puppets can also be made very simply out of a sock and these are much easier to manipulate than a bought hand-puppet.
> Paper folding games using coloured stiff card i.e. origami techniques, or paper aeroplanes.
> Gardening – nurturing seeds and seedlings from tiny seeds to a small plant.
> Cooking/baking, especially with rolling pins and the finger rubbing method to make crumble topping.
> Paper chain making, cutting and sticking paper into collages or making a scrapbook for a particular event.
> Using sticker books or stickers to make pictures of, or cards.
> Games of copying peg board designs. Use a stop watch to make this harder.
> Make necklaces out of threading painted macaroni onto wool or by using beads and string.
> Make little woolly pom-poms by winding wool around cardboard rings.
> Sewing cards.
> Simple woodwork using balsa wood or similar.
> Apps for tablets include – Dexteria, magic sorter, bugs and buttons, spot the dot. Games that can be bought include:
> Fishing game – uses magnet on string to pick up metal ‘fish’
> Marbles and marble run.
> Tiddlywinks
> Jenga
> Pick up sticks
> Solitaire
> Draughts
> Connect 4
> Ludo
> Card games
> Buckaroo
> Dominoes
> Snakes and Ladders
> Monopoly – (Ideally being the banker!)
> Mastermind
> Matching pairs
> Fuzzy felt
> Frustration
> Don’t buzz the wire
> Operation
> Puzzles
> Gaming

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Bilateral Co-ordination

This the ability to carry out co-ordinated movements of the right and left sides of the body and to cross the mid-line of the body. Co-ordination of the two body sides is an important foundation for the development of many gross motor skills (whole body movement) and fine motor skills (use of two hands).

The child typically progresses from performing movements with both sides of the body at the same time to each side of the body doing opposite movements at the same time, e.g. walking. The final stage is where the child is able to do different movements with each side of the body at the same time (e.g. cutting with scissors in one hand while holding the paper in the other).

Co-ordination of the two sides of the body is essential to hand use and the development of hand dominance (right and left handed). Good co-ordination is an important foundation for writing with pencils and cutting with scissors. Children learn to co-ordinate both sides of their body when they manipulate toys such as threading beads and lego, and when they skip, gallop, clapping games or ride a bike.

“Co-ordination of the two sides of the body is essential to hand use and the development of hand dominance”

Strategies

These play strategies have been put together to improve your child’s hand skills. They can be done in any order and should ideally be practised 3 times a week for 15minutes:

> Messy play (e.g. finger painting, shaving cream foam, water or sand play) using two hands together.
> Play dough/clay/plasticine activities – e.g. pulling it apart, pushing objects into it, rolling with two hands together or making small balls by rolling in both hands.
> Threading large beads, buttons, cotton reels or macaroni onto laces, straws or pipe cleaners.
> Simple hand sewing or tapestry/weaving.
> Construction kits e.g. lego, duplo and meccano.
> Toys that can be pulled apart with two hands e.g. magnets.
> Skipping, wheelbarrow walks.
> Stacking games.
> Clapping/tapping games with hands (e.g. pat a cake) or action songs e.g. ‘The wheels on the bus’.
> Musical instruments that can be played using two hands together e.g. drums.
> Ball games (kicking, throwing and catching).
> Balloon games (e.g. hitting balloon with a soft bat).
> Playing card games.
> Cooking activities – such as using a manual egg whisk or holding a bowl in one hand while beating with the other hand.
> Obstacle courses.
> Jumping or trampolining.
> Scissors activities.
> Paper activities, paper planes/tearing long strips of paper/scrunching up paper to make balls.
> Using templates of stencils for drawing around.
> Riding a bicycle.
> Car cleaning or window cleaning.
> Woodwork activities.
> Board games (e.g. mastermind, battleships)

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Play and Hand Skills

Palmar Grasp

Cylinder Grasp

Finger Isolation

Pincer Grasp

Hand Arches

Using Both Hands

Strategies for babies who are not yet sitting

Strategies for babies who are sitting up

Strategies for children

Bilateral Co-ordination

“Co-ordination of the two sides of the body is essential to hand use and the development of hand dominance”

Strategies

Useful Links & Resources

Honeylands Child Assessment Centre

Early Years Complex Needs Service

Kids Master Skills