Your baby’s fine motor skills have been developing and they can now accurately reach for and grasp an object. They will still explore objects with their mouth but as their fine motor skills develop, they will begin to explore objects with their hands and fingers.
Your baby will have been using their hands together for a little while now, starting with bringing their hands together in the centre of their body and then using both hands to reach for an object. Now, they will be starting to use each hand in a different way, this is referred to as, ‘role-differentiated bimanual manipulation’[1]. The development of ‘role-differentiated bi-manual manipulation’ involves several skills, you might notice that your baby starts by using one or two fingers to touch an object they are holding, before stroking the object with their hand. Their movements at first might have been accidental, but now you will notice they focus on and explore an object with one hand while holding it with their other hand.
The development of the ability to use their hands in different ways is linked to their developing fine motor skills, and to their gross motor skills as to hold and touch an object your baby needs to control their posture and arm movements.
At this stage, your baby might not show a preference for using one hand to hold the object and one hand to explore. But it is likely as they touch and manipulate more objects this preference will emerge over the coming months.
The development of the ability to use their hands in different ways, and with greater control opens up possibilities for learning more about objects. Your baby will be able to combine information from looking at an object, touching it with their hands and exploring it with their mouth to understand more about the object. This supports their cognitive development as they develop more knowledge of the objects that they encounter. Your baby’s cognitive development also supports their exploration as they develop the ability to think about and control their actions, so they explore objects in a more systematic and purposeful way.
You can encourage your baby to use both hands to explore objects by giving them objects that are different shapes and sizes. They might be more motivated to explore objects if they are different textures or if they have ridges or parts that can be moved or poked. [2]
Your baby will begin to decide how to explore an object, so will decide if they should hold an object with one hand or both hands. They will be able to use their hands in different and more complex ways. For example, holding an object still with one hand while they remove a part or object from it, taking an object out of a box or pulling two parts or a toy apart.
References
[1] Babik, I. & Michel, G.F. (2016) Development of Role Differentiated Bimanual Manipulation in Infancy: Part 1. The Emergence of the Skill. Developmental Psychobiology. 58(2) pp243-256.
[2] Greaves, S., Imms, C, Krumlinde-Sundholm, L. Dodd, K. & Eliasson, A-C. (2012) Bimanual behaviours in children aged 8-18 months: A literature review to select toys that elicit the use of two hands. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 33. Pp. 240-250.