Pincer Grasp: What Is It and When Will Your Baby Learn It?

By unlocking the pincer grasp, your baby will lay the foundation for several other fine motor skills. What exactly is this grip, and when will your baby develop it? Read on to find out.

The pincer grasp is the ability to hold an object between the thumb and forefinger. 1 While this skill may seem simple, it plays a big part in our everyday lives. From holding a pen to buttoning a shirt to picking up a coin, we all rely on this skill.

For your baby, the pincer grasp is a huge step forward in his fine motor development. It shows that he has solid hand-eye coordination. From here, he’ll go on to reach many other milestones, such as self-feeding and, later on, playing with toys, writing, and drawing.

Notably, being able to pick things up isn’t just a useful skill. It also helps with your baby’s sensory development and allows him to explore different textures and shapes with his hands. Of course, this means you need to pay more attention to what’s within his reach.

The pincer grasp doesn’t appear overnight. It will start to develop when your baby is still a newborn; if you put your finger on his palm, he’ll instinctively close his hand and grip it. This is the grasp reflex.

Throughout his first year, he’ll reach many other grasping milestones that’ll eventually lead to the pincer grasp.

Here’s a general timeline of a baby’s grasping motor skills development: 2

• Palmar grasp (4–6 months): When your baby is around 4–6 months old, he’ll develop the “palmar grasp” skill, which will let him grab a block or a similarly sized object.
• Raking grasp (6–8 months): At about 6–8 months old, your baby will be able to use his fingers to “rake” an object into his palm with his thumb bent. He may also refine his palmar grasp skill and learn to grab smaller objects with his thumb, index, and middle fingers while keeping a straight wrist.
• Lateral pincer (8–10 months): During months 8–10, your baby will learn to pick up objects with his thumb and the side (not tip) of his index finger.
• Inferior pincer grasp (10–12 months): As your baby turns 10 months old and marches toward his first birthday, you may catch him using his thumb and the pad of his forefinger to pick up objects. However, the motion may look a bit clumsy.
• Refined pincer grasp (12–15 months): At one year old (or potentially a few months afterward), your baby will finally master the pincer grasp! He’ll be able to use the tips of his thumb and forefinger to pick up small objects with real precision.

Again, these are just general guidelines. Babies develop at their own paces, and there’s no need to worry if yours develops the pincer grasp a bit later— or earlier—than his peers.

Help your baby develop the muscles in his hands and fingers and master the pincer grasp with these activities:

• Offer finger foods: Give your baby soft, safe foods like cooked pasta, small pieces of fruit, and softened vegetables to practice his pincer grasp. Be sure to watch him closely as he explores the food to keep him from choking.
• Engage in playtime: Let your baby play with toys that encourage grasping and manipulation, such as building blocks (especially smaller ones), activity boards with buttons, switches, and dials, nesting cups, stacking rings, and pull toys.
• Sensory play: Allowing your baby to explore different textures with his hands is important for his grasping skills development. Give him squishy balls, crinkly paper, or safe household items to play with. Plastic bowls and utensils, wooden spoons, and unbreakable measuring cups are great toys (when supervised!) for your baby to practice grasping.

As you’ve probably gathered by now, once your baby can grab objects, there’s one dangerous place he may want to put them: his mouth. Always keep small objects that could be choking hazards out of your baby’s reach.

Remember—it’s okay if your baby’s grasping development doesn’t exactly match the timeline above. However, if he’s older than 12 months and hasn’t shown any signs of exploring the pincer grasp, you should let your doctor know.

Your pediatrician can assess your child’s fine motor skills and overall development to rule out any underlying issues. If needed, they might suggest certain interventions, such as occupational therapy. The earlier you get your child the help he needs, the better.

Enjoy watching your baby pick up items—clumsily at first, and then steadily soon after—with his chubby little hands. The determination and curiosity he’ll show when exploring this skill will both show he’s growing into a healthy, smart child.

Buckle up. Soon, your baby will be eating all by himself, throwing balls across the room, and otherwise putting that pincer grasp to work.