Scissor Skill Development
To utilize scissors, a proper posture (upright 90/90/90/ degree posture at ankles, hips, and knees) is required to produce functional distal mobility and fine motor skills. Children will need to have bilateral coordination, good hand strength, isolation of the thumb and fingers, separation of the two sides of the hand, eye-hand coordination and open web space. To properly hold a scissor, the child’s thumb should always be up and the elbow should be adducted to the side.
Cutting Skills by age:
2-3 years old
- Introduction
- Learning to open and close using both hands
- Mini snips or cuts
3-4 years old
- Practice
- Learns to hold scissors with one hand
- Can cut part of a straight line
4-5 years old
- Progression
- Cuts with one hand
- Fully cuts a straight line
- Cuts curved lines or shapes (possibly)
5-6 years old
- Application
- Cuts curved lines and shapes
- Improved accuracy
6-7 years old
- Mastery
- Cuts more complex shapes and images
Tips for early scissor skills:
- Start early – Kids are ready to be exposed to scissors as early as 2 years old (with close supervision). Early experience with scissors can be playful, for example, snipping play dough and experimenting with different grasp patterns
- Use heavy paper – Cutting paper that is heavier is typically easier because the paper will remain still while cutting. This also gives good proprioceptive input to increase awareness in hands
- Thumbs up cutting – Prompting kids with “thumbs up” helps them position their hands correctly and in a neutral position. If this is tricky for them, place a colored sticker on both of their thumbs and tell them they should be able to see the stickers while they cut the paper
- Use tape as a visual cue – Put the colored tape around the thumb hole of the scissors to cue their thought on putting the thumb with the sticker in it. This is super helpful for kids who grasp scissors upside down.
- Use stickers as visual cues – Place a sticker on the paper where their stabilizing hand should go for a visual prompt.
