Starting to pass objects from one hand to the other

Your baby has been exploring the world through holding and moving interesting objects. They will have been using an increasingly varied set of movements of their hands and arms and may even have enjoyed bringing their hands together near the centre of their body.  

Now you will see your baby start to pass objects from one hand to the other. This is a far trickier skill than it sounds as it requires you baby to use many skills including hand-eye-coordination[1]. You will notice your baby begin to focus their eyes to track the progress of the object, coordinating their visual and physical skills.  

Try, try and try again 

This seemingly simple movement of passing something from one hand to another involves lots of practice and coordination from your baby. They need to know the goal (passing the item over) and then recall this goal as well as how to achieve it. In order to make it happen they will control their bodies to hold the item, use their vision to track the item, perceive depth and maintain an awareness of where their bodies are in relation to the item. After all this they will then need to be able to form a good grip to hold on when they pass the item over. 

Trial and error will be key for developing this skill so frequently offer your baby simple items to hold while they are enjoying play time on their back or when they are practising sitting. Research has shown that babies are less interested in passing items from hand to hand during tummy time because their hands, arms and core muscles are busy supporting their body weight[2].  

Start with light or easy to grip items like soft sponges, teething rings or small wooden toys in order to make sure your baby has the best chance of success. Items with rings or handles can be easier to grasp. As they become more confident offer slightly more challenging shapes and textures to allow them to develop different muscles when they grip or move the object. Always make sure the items you offer are safe for your baby to explore with all their senses. They may use their increased hand-eye coordination to bring the items to their mouth, or up to their eye line, for a closer inspection.  

Your baby will be more interested in the world around them, using their vision to observe you and their environment throughout the day. This stage often also links to their increased gross motor skills. You might notice an increase in passing items hand to hand as your child becomes a more confident sitter, when their hands and arms will become free to reach out rather than be used to support their body[2].  

Left or Right? 

It can be tempting to watch your little one using their hands more and wonder whether they will be left-handed or right-handed. These first few years of their life will be a time of huge development and although they may start to show a preference it is not considered wise to identify this until children are older and have more developed physical skills. If your baby is relying significantly on one hand over the other, particularly before they are 18 months old, it would be a good idea to discuss this with your baby’s healthcare professional[1]. 

What next? 

Now that your baby has begun to pass items from hand to hand, they will be able to explore objects in more detail. You might notice that they begin to bring objects to their eye line more frequently and even rotate the item in front of their eyes.  

Your baby will continue to use their senses to discover more about the properties of objects. Sound will become a bigger part of this as they use their hand-eye coordination to bang items on surfaces in order to gather new sensory information. Over time this curiosity will be used alongside increased motor skills to allow your child to explore objects as tools used to solve problems, become more independent or mimic adult use[3]. 

References 

[1] Sheridan, M., Sharma, A and Cockerill, H. (2014). Mary Sheridan’s from birth to five years. Children’s developmental progress. (4th edn.). Abingdon: Routledge. 

[2] Soska, K.C & Adolph, K.E. (2014) Postural position constrains multimodal object exploration in infants. Infancy 19(2) 138-161. Available online at  Postural position constrains multimodal object exploration in infants  

[3] K.E. Adolph and J.M. Franchak. (2017) The Development of Motor Behaviour. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci. 8(1-2) 10.1002/wcs.1430. Available online at The development of motor behavior (nih.gov)