SAFETY GRIPS AND WRITING SKILLS
Just as large muscle motor skills precede fine motor skills and intelligence, the Grasp Reflex and Safety Grip precede the Pincer Grip and the ability to write. A strong Safety Grip develops from the Grasp Reflex. Babies are born with an instinctive Grasp Reflex and many 1 year olds can support their body weight for 30 seconds or more using a the Safety Grip.
At Jumping Beans, whenever your child’s hand is holding on above their head we use a Safety Grip. Whenever their hand is below their head we use a Pincer Grip.
The Safety Grip ( whole hand grip) can be used as an emergency grip if the child’s feet slip while climbing. The Safety Grip acts like a hook, is unidirectional and can latch on easily. At Jumping Beans we make sure child’s thumb is in the up position for a more secure grip and allows the child to brachiate for longer.
The benefits of using the SAFETY GRIP is the strengthening or the hands, arms and upper body; enlarged chest and lung capacity and increased oxygen to the brain as well as improved thoracic and abdominal posture.
The PINCER GRIP is best used whenever the hand is below the head as in climbing the A-frames. The Pincer Grip is not as strong as the Safe Grip because the thumb is opposed to the fingers and the Main Grip comes from the fingers rather than the whole hand so it is not as good at bearing weight but it better for helping children to balance. The Pincer Grip is a multi-directional grip and so supports children if they lose their balance in any direction.
Benefits of Pincer Grip.
The benefits of the Pincer Grip include using thumb and forefinger in opposition to manipulate objects and tools such as pencils. The is a vital precursor to holding a pencil correctly and writing.
