Your baby will have started to develop more control of the movements of their fingers, and you might have noticed them bringing all their fingers and their thumb together to pick up an object. Now, as their control develops, they will begin to use their thumb and index finger to pick up small items, at first holding these with the pad of their thumb and index finger, rather than with the tip of their finger and thumb.
Although we tend to notice the development of baby’s grasp by seeing what they are doing with their hands and fingers, the development of these skills is also linked to developing control of their arms and posture. [1] Your baby will use their arm to move their hand into the position needed to grasp and move an object. The development of control of their posture will enable them to maintain their position as they reach for and grasp an object.
Your baby will have been reaching for and grasping items for a little while now, but to be able to pick up smaller objects they need to develop control of the movements of their fingers and thumb. The pincer grasp is a significant development for your baby as this grasp involves opposition of their thumb and one finger. This is the first step towards developing a grasp that will allow your baby to move and manipulate a range of objects and is the first step towards them being able to use tools including pens and pencils. Your child will need many opportunities to develop their posture and strength and control of their arms, hands and fingers in order to develop the skills they need to manipulate objects.
As your baby develops their fine motor skills, more opportunities to explore objects and learn about the world become available to them. Now, your child can pick up smaller objects accurately, they might start to explore a wider variety of toys and objects. Be aware, they will continue to explore with their mouths for some time yet so make sure that objects they can reach are safe for them to explore. Your baby might be more confident when feeding themselves now and might squeeze food between their thumb and index finger to explore it further.
Your baby will continue to develop their posture and control of their movements. As they are able to move more confidently, they will move towards objects they would like to explore and might combine objects to explore them in different ways. They will continue to develop control of their hands and fingers and their grasp will develop as they practise picking up and moving a variety of objects.
References
[1] Utley, A. (2018) Motor control, learning and development (2nd edn.) London: Routledge.