Fine Motor Skills in Infants

Fine motor skills are the small muscle movements primarily involving the hands, fingers and wrists, as well as the feet and toes. These skills develop alongside the larger muscle or gross motor skills. Fine motor skills also involve coordinating visual motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

  1. Newborn to 3 Months

    • Pre-reaching, which involves a baby extending an arm but never touching the desired object, develops early. At 2 months old, a baby&'s favorite chew toy is most likely his own fist. Around 3 months of age, a baby&'s vision is acute enough to coordinate with the baby&'s fine motor skills, so the baby can swat objects. However, up until 3 months of age most fine motor skills are involuntary reflex reactions such as tightly closing the fist, which a baby does any time something touches her palm. At this point, when a baby grasps a toy or mom&'s finger, it is also merely reflex.

    4 to 6 Months

    • Around 4 months old, a baby can reach for and grasp an object between his palms and enclosing fingers. This is the ulnar grasp. Another important milestone that occurs around this time is that when babies reach for objects they are able to only focus on the object, not their hands, which is a skill referred to as "top reaching." At 5 months old, babies start transferring objects from one hand to the other. At 6 months old, a baby starts exploring objects, including her own feet, with both her hands and mouth. Some babies may bang objects at this point, as well.

    7 to 9 Months

    • A baby can do all kinds of fine motor feats during the period from 6 to 9 months, including learning to drink from a cup, and shaking, banging, dropping and possibly throwing objects. A baby will also refine other skills, like placing down larger objects instead of merely throwing or dropping them. In addition, babies get more control and are able to handle increasingly smaller objects.

    10 to 12 Months

    • Between 10 and 12 months, babies will master the pincer grasp, holding objects between their thumb and index finger. This enables baby to eat o-shaped cereal independently and place tiny things inside containers. Babies can also stack, nest and compare objects in each hand. Another major development is that babies learn to use each hand independently in play, which typically occurs around 12 months of age. This requires adept hand–eye coordination.

    Considerations

    • Babies all have their own timetables for reaching milestones, but if parents are concerned that their babies are noticeably lagging behind age-mates, they should discuss it with the pediatrician. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends regular developmental screenings for infants and young children. Regular screenings help ensure that while babies and children develop at individual rates, a normal pattern of development is observable. If a baby is seriously behind in fine motor development, early intervention can be helpful.

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