It’s amazing how fast babies learn and achieve new things! In the motor development area, you’ll see that your child will reach certain milestones during their first few months. Newborns come into the world with a series of survival reflexes and they are more capable than we think. Some of these reflexes disappear after a few weeks, while others become voluntary and directed movements.
My baby’s clenched fists
If you are new parents and
your baby is just a few months old, you’ll notice that they keep their hands
in clenched fists. Your little one is still comfortable staying in
the same position they adopted in the uterus: keeping their arms and legs close
to their body and their hands in a fist. For now, your baby can’t control many
of their movements and you’ll see that, if you caress their palm, they’ll
immediately grasp your finger as an automatic response. It’s
amazing how someone so small can have such a strong grip! This reflex will show
after birth and continue to manifest itself until your baby is 5-6 months,
since, little by little, they’ll learn how to control their
hands.
When your little one is 2 months old, you’ll see that their
movements start to be more fluid and less abrupt. This is due to their nervous
system maturation during the last couple of weeks. Even though their
finger mobility is still limited and they keep their hands in a fist,
your child will start to move their arms in front of them. They’ll do it
whenever they are excited and they may start bringing
their hands to their mouth to suck at them. It will be exciting to see
their progress!
What are the benefits of opening the baby's fist?
1. Promote the development of the nervous system
The baby can try to grasp various objects when the fingers
are separated, which enables the baby to actively learn and engage in various
movements and also facilitates the development of perception and concrete thinking
skills.
2. Exercise the baby's hand control ability
The process of opening your little baby's hands can exercise
his ability to control his small hands and lay the foundation for various
movements such as holding toys in the future. As body movements continue to
improve, babies can use their hands to do more interesting things. It will
effectively help the baby to establish the concept of interaction between
themselves and the environment, which will help the baby to learn, work and
live in the future.
Developing hand coordination
A baby will open their clenched fists progressively.
When they are 3 months old, maybe they’ll try to reach for objects voluntarily,
even though they won’t be able to hold them properly and that will frustrate
them. If you hang something in front of them, they’ll try to grasp it and, in a
blink of an eye, they’ll develop their grasp control and will start reaching
for things and holding toys. Although the evolution of the palmar grasp
reflex from an automatic response to a voluntary action will take a
few more weeks, your child will start to relax their hands and spend less time
with their fists closed.
When you see that your baby starts doing this, make the most
of it and play with them! You can hang small attractive toys in front of them
and encourage them to move their hands. When they are able to open their palms,
give them things to hold. Remember to celebrate each of their
achievements!
Other newborn reflexes that you’ll be able to observe in
your baby are the Moro reflex (which is a response to being
startled), moving their legs as if walking when they feel a hard surface under
their feet, moving their head looking for the nipple or the feeding bottle,
squeezing their toes when you touch their sole, etc. Remember that each
baby develops at their own rhythm and that not everyone presents and
loses all reflexes at the same time. Your pediatrician will test all the
newborn reflexes in your baby’s first medical appointment, but, if you have any
doubts or concerns, don’t hesitate to ask.
How to exercise the baby's fist?
1. We can put our fingers into the palm of the baby when
bathing baby, and the baby will immediately hold the parent's finger with his
chubby little hand, and then we can gently wash it while turning it in the
baby's little hand.
2. Parents can also gently rub the baby's little hand from the thumb to the little finger when the baby is in good spirits, which can stimulate the development of tactile nerves.