Beginning Scissor Skills

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This article is by Mama Sez, because Crazy JC Girl simply doesn’t remember a lot of this stuff since she was so young. She does, however, want to share part of her journey and struggles if it will help others.

As mentioned in previous posts, Crazy JC Girl worked with an Occupational Therapist when she was younger due to poor upper body strength and fine motor skills. We both learned quite a bit from the OT, but I must say one of the best things we discovered were:

SQUEEZE / LOOP SCISSORS

These are the easiest way to learn to cut, even for children who are not delayed whatsoever! Cutting is SO EASY to learn using these self-opening, easy-squeeze scissors.

You will still need to teach your little one how to use these with hand-over-hand techniques, but they will quickly get the hang of these in no time. However, KEEP a close eye on young ones – DO NOT LET THEM DO THIS BY THEMSELVES. Some of these scissors are sharp, some are not. I believe it depends on the name brand & if they have become dull over time.

Shown above are the 8-inch loop scissors. For smaller hands, 5-inch loop scissors are also available.

Remember, that weak hands may not be able to cut very long. Just a few cuts or even a 5-minute session of cutting is wonderful for a child who has very little strength. Remember to incorporate plenty of fine motor activities to help build strength while playing.

Transitioning

Once your little one has accomplished using these and can do almost anything they want, it’s time to transition to using regular child safety scissors. If your child is truly struggling, you may consider the following as an intermediary step, where only the fingers are placed inside the grip, while the thumb remains free on top:

It will take time to transition to regular child safety scissors. Will it be easy? NO. Again, you will need to help place their thumb & fingers into the correct loops. It will also require hand strength to open the scissors. Usually child scissors are also bulkier/heavier too. Be patient. In time they’ll be cutting through every piece of mail and magazine you own!

Cutting Worksheets & Ideas

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