How is my baby developing fine motor skills when they point?

Pointing is one of those skills that most of us probably don’t think about much. But you might notice it’s mentioned in different ways in the app. That’s because pointing is pretty amazing – not only does your baby need to understand why they might want (or need) to point, they also need to be able to move one finger without moving the others – pretty skillful, we think!  

When your baby points they are showing that they have developed their hand and finger strength.  

When they first start pointing, your baby might use their whole hand, but soon you'll notice they use their index finger. When they point like this, your baby is showing they have developed finger isolation. 

What is finger isolation? 

The term ‘finger isolation’ refers to the movement of individual fingers. The index finger is often the first finger your baby uses in isolation.  

Being able to use their index finger will help your baby point, swipe and press buttons.  

Eventually, all the fingers will be used in isolation – this will help when playing certain instruments, counting on fingers, typing or using a phone.