Uses their fingers to pull objects to their palm so that they can hold them
Your baby is learning how to adjust their hand’s position to grasp items of different shapes and sizes. They will be using their strengthening gross motor skills, alongside their developing fine motor skills, to attempt new ways of picking objects up.
To do this, your baby will combine their visual and manual skills to anticipate where the object is and begin to use that visual information about the object to decide how best to hold it.[1]
When they grip small items, you'll see your baby use a raking grasp – this is where their fingers pull the object in to their palm so that they can hold on to it.
The raking grasp
Your baby might have spotted a tempting item they want to get hold of, like a Cheerio or soft piece of banana, but they don’t yet have the coordination to pick it up using a pincer grasp. To overcome this, your baby may make a ‘raking’ movement, by curling their fingers over the item and sweeping it up into their palm to hold it in their fist.
This raking grasp is an important stage, as your baby will feel the sensations that come with holding small items and they'll get a huge sense of achievement from having the object in their grasp, even if you can see it's not yet being held in a very practical way!
Mastering the tricky work of getting small items into their hand will allow your baby to develop more sophisticated hand grasps, like the pincer grasp, which is when they are able to hold an item between the tip of their thumb and forefinger.[2]
The pincer grip comes next
As your baby enjoys the success of holding small items in their palm, their fine motor skills will develop to allow them to hold small things between their thumb and forefinger, giving them far more control as they explore the item.
When this 'pincer grip' begins to develop, you'll initially notice that your baby uses the sides of their thumb and finger to support the item. As they become more practiced in it, they will start to hold the item closer to the tips of their thumb and finger instead.
So, these 'little' changes in the way your baby holds things are actually a big deal! And your baby's sense of achievement will grow and grow as they master grasping and gripping things around them.
References:
[1] Barrett, T. Traupman, E. Needham, A. (2008) ‘Infants’ visual anticipation of object structure in grasp planning’. Infant Behavior and Development. Volume 31, Issue 1, Pages 1-9
[2] Nall, R. (2018) Why a Pincer Grasp Is Crucial for a Baby’s Development. Available: https://www.healthline.com/health/pincer-grasp#development