Typical Pencil Grasp Development For Kids

Typical Pencil Grasp
Development for
Writing
By Heather Greutman July 30, 2023
30 Comments
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Proper pencil grasp development for
writing starts a lot earlier than you think
in children. From the time your child
starts grasping for objects with their
hands, they are developing a grasp.
If your child has ever received or been
evaluated for Occupational Therapy, this
is one thing that the therapist will be
looking at when assessing their
handwriting skills.
Table of Contents for Pencil

Grasp Development
Development in Kids
Crude Palmar Grasp – 3-5
Months Old
Palmar Grasp – 6 Months Old
Radial Palmar Grasp – 7
Months Old
Raking Grasp – 8 Months Old
Radial Digital Grasp – 8-10
Months
Inferior Pincer & Pincer Grasp
– 10 Months Old
Palmar Supinate Grasp – 12-
15 months old
Digital Pronate Grasp – 2-3
Years Old
Static Tripod and/or
Quadrupod Grasp – 3-4 Years
Old
Dynamic Tripod Grasp – 5-6
Years Old
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Before we get started here are some
term de^nitions that will help explain
some of the hand grasps:
Radial – Thumb side of the hand
Digital – Finger or pinkie side of the
hand; can also mean digits as in
^ngers
Palmar – Palm side, or inside part
of the hand
Supinate – Palm facing up or
forwards
Pronate – Palm facing down or
backward

Development in Kids
Let's start at the beginning. Again these
are average age ranges, every child is
different. If you do suspect your child is
behind in their development, please talk
to your pediatrician or consult with your
local Occupational Therapist.
Crude Palmar Grasp –

3-5 Months Old
By age 3.9 months your baby
should be able to grasp a rattle or
other objects.
By age 5.2 months they reach for
objects with their whole arm using a
crude palmar grasp (grabbing at
objects with the pinkie side, or
palmar side, of their hand. The
thumb is not being used at this
time.
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Palmar Grasp – 6
Months Old
Your child will start using their entire
hand to grasp at objects, including some
thumb movement. This is called a
Palmar Grasp.
Radial Palmar Grasp –

7 Months Old
They will begin to involve the thumb and
all ^ngers while using more of the
thumb side of their hand to grab objects
or using a radial palmar grasp.
Raking Grasp – 8
Months Old
By 8 months your child will start to use a
raking-type grasp. This involves bending
(or fexing) the ^ngers to bring objects
into the hand and closer to them.
Radial Digital Grasp –

8-10 Months
Between 8-10 months old your child will
start to perfect the pincer grasp using a
Radial Digital Grasp & Inferior Pincer
Grasp. A radial grasp refers to the
^ngers from the middle ^nger to the
thumb doing the grasping. As pictured,
the child tends to use the pads of their
^ngers to grasp instead of the tips.
Inferior Pincer &

Pincer Grasp – 10
Months Old
By the age of 10.2 months, they should
be able to use a thumb-^nger grasp
(pincer grasp). The difference between
the Inferior Pincer Grasp and a regular
Pincer grasp is all in the placement of
the ^ngertips.
The index and thumb are used in for this
grasp. If the pads of the ^ngers are
holding the object, that is an Inferior
Pincer Grasp. A true pincer grasp is
using the tips of the pointer ^nger and
thumb.
You may also see this referred to as the
“Pincher” grasp, however, the correct
spelling is “Pincer”.
Palmar Supinate
Grasp – 12-15
months old
At this age, a young toddler begins to
use a palmar supinate grasp. It is a
^sted grasp with the thumb wrapped at
the top of the writing utensil. This is
usually accompanied by scribbling. This
is considered a primitive grasp.
Digital Pronate Grasp

– 2-3 Years Old
By 2-3 years old, a child moves to a
digital pronate grasp, pictured below.
This is the beginning of an e8cient-
looking hand grasp. The ^ngers are now
pointed down towards the bottom of the
writing utensil, however, all the ^ngers
are being used along with a lot of whole
arm movements. This is also a common
grasp for self-feeding with utensils.
Static Tripod and/or

Quadrupod Grasp – 3-
4 Years Old
By age 3 to 4 a child will switch to a
static tripod grasp or quadrupod grasp.
They hold the writing utensils crudely
and use the whole pads of their ^ngers
on the writing utensil. There also may
still be some wrist and forearm
movement to move the pencil, with the
^ngers not moving, or static.
The static tripod grasp is a 3 ^nger
grasp, two ^ngers pinching the writing
utensil and the 3rd (middle) ^nger

81
tucked to the side of the pencil, forming
a tripod. The 4th and 5th ^ngers are
usually static next to these ^ngers and
do not tuck into the palm of the hand

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A8liate and Referral links are used

below to promote products I love and

recommend. I receive a commission

on any purchases made through these

links. Please see my disclosure policy

for more details. As an Amazon

Associate, I earn from qualifying

Proper pencil grasp development for

writing starts a lot earlier than you think

in children. From the time your child

starts grasping for objects with their

hands, they are developing a grasp.

If your child has ever received or been

evaluated for Occupational Therapy, this

is one thing that the therapist will be

looking at when assessing their

Table of Contents for Pencil

Typical Pencil Grasp

Crude Palmar Grasp – 3-5

Palmar Grasp – 6 Months Old

Radial Palmar Grasp – 7

Raking Grasp – 8 Months Old

Radial Digital Grasp – 8-10

Inferior Pincer & Pincer Grasp

Palmar Supinate Grasp – 12-

Digital Pronate Grasp – 2-3

Static Tripod and/or

Quadrupod Grasp – 3-4 Years

Dynamic Tripod Grasp – 5-6

Before we get started here are some

term de^nitions that will help explain

some of the hand grasps:

Radial – Thumb side of the hand

Digital – Finger or pinkie side of the

hand; can also mean digits as in

Palmar – Palm side, or inside part

Supinate – Palm facing up or

Pronate – Palm facing down or

Typical Pencil Grasp

are average age ranges, every child is

different. If you do suspect your child is

behind in their development, please talk

to your pediatrician or consult with your

local Occupational Therapist.

Crude Palmar Grasp –

should be able to grasp a rattle or

By age 5.2 months they reach for

objects with their whole arm using a

crude palmar grasp (grabbing at

objects with the pinkie side, or

palmar side, of their hand. The

thumb is not being used at this

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hand to grasp at objects, including some

thumb movement. This is called a

Radial Palmar Grasp –

all ^ngers while using more of the

thumb side of their hand to grab objects