Reaching out for objects and your baby's growing accuracy
Your baby will have started to move their hands towards objects a little while ago. Now as they develop control and the ability to think about their movements they will reach out and grab objects when lying on their back.
Starting to reach with both hands
When your baby can reach for and grasp objects this gives them another way to explore the world, and so this is an important step in their development.[1]
When lying on their back, your baby’s body and head are supported so they can move their arms to reach towards an object without also needing to maintain their posture. So reaching towards objects when lying on their back is likely to be their first step towards reaching.
Initially, your baby is likely to use both of their hands together, so when they first start to reach and grab an object they will probably do it with both hands.[2]
Reaching involves vision, coordination and strength
Reaching and grasping involves balance, coordination, strength and thinking skills.[2] To be able to reach for an object successfully, your baby needs to be able to control the movement of their arms, open and close their hand to grasp an object, think about the movement needed, and make a decision to reach for the object.
Coordination involves your baby using information from their senses and combining this with their physical skills in order to make accurate movements.
Reaching towards objects will help your baby to use their developing vision to understand how far away an object is as they practise reaching towards and grabbing objects. At first, they might not be able to do this accurately, but they will become more precise with lots of practice.
Getting more accurate...
Over the coming months, your baby will practise and develop their accuracy when reaching for and grabbing objects. They will begin to grab objects and put them in their mouth to explore or move them around to see what happens. As your baby’s strength develops, they will reach and grab objects when lying on their tummy as well as when being held or when lying on their back.
References:
[1] Van Hof P., Van Der Kamp J. & Savelsbergh, G.J.P (2003) The relation of unimanual and bimanual reaching to crossing the midline. Child Development. 73 (5) pp 1353-1362.
[2] Sheridan, M., Sharma, A and Cockerill, H. (2014). Mary Sheridan’s from birth to five years. Children’s developmental progress. (4th edn.). Abingdon: Routledge.