It’s All In The Hands - Ways to Develop Fine Motor Skills By
Barbara Greenspan, OT Think of all the things we use our hands
for in the course of a day, an hour and even a minute! How do
these tools we call “hands” become so skilled? It is a long
process… Hand development really begins at the body (the core)
and the shoulder. Way before voluntary movement of the hands
happen, a baby needs a good, strong core (abdominal, back and
shoulder muscles) for stability. Think of a tree-it has a strong
trunk to hold and support the branches and that is how exactly
how babies develop good hand function-by building their core
muscles first! The first 6 months of life During the first 6
months of life and the hands are responding with reflex
movements, not voluntary movement. When the baby’s palm is
touched, they squeeze (so hard!) and when the back of the hand
is touched, they open the hand. These are reflexes that
naturally happen in the first few months of life. Some
precursors for voluntary hand movement that occur dur