What Does It Mean When a Baby Grabs Its Toes?

A Show of Skills

• Motor skills are the movements that humans make in order to live work, eat and operate in the world as adults. These skills are developed slowly from infancy to adolescence, beginning with the act of grabbing the toes. A baby who can reach for, connect with and grasp his own toes exhibits the hand-and-eye coordination needed to perform the most minimal grabbing exercises as adults. When you pick up a pen, punch a key on a keyboard or open a door, remember that these mundane movements began when you grabbed your toes as a baby.

Body Control

• Babies are completely dependent on their parents to get any bodily needs met. They are born with little control over those little bodies. It is only later, about three months after birth, according to Children, Youth and Women's Health Service, when the baby grabs his toes for the first time. The act requires control of the eyes, to keep them from wandering while the operation is in progress. The arms stretch toward the foot and while the legs bring the feet into range for grasping. The hands must open and catch the toes at the precise moment when the legs bring them in range. For a being who has only three months of practice, such an operation is a great feat of body control worthy to be called a milestone.

Interacting with the World

• Until now, your baby was only concerned with making movements with his own body. After he accomplishes the feat of grabbing his toes, the baby can now reach out and touch other things in his environment. This means touching mom's face during a feeding or grabbing the toys hanging above his head from a low-hanging mobile. He has a new sense to use to explore with as well̵2;the sens of touch. Now, with his hands and new ability to grab things, the baby can explore more of the world around him than before.

Socialization

• Touching your face, grabbing your fingers and even grabbing his own toes gets a reactions out of you and the people around him. These acts evoke smiles, laughs and praise, teaching the the important lessons about socializing with other people. He can respond to your praise with more tricks, a smile or laugh -- other socialization skills that he's picked up since birth a few months before.