Occupational therapists and educators have long recommended the mature dynamic tripod grasp. This grasp provides the most control of the pencil. Variations of this grasp (lateral tripod, dynamic quadrupod, adapted tripod) are common in children with legible handwriting.
By the time your child hits kindergarten, they will use the most mature grasp, the dynamic tripod/quadruped grasp. They will use the tips of their fingers on the writing utensil and also hold the crayon/pencil more at an angle than vertical. This is much like an adult grasp.
Mature Pincer Grasp (typically developed by 12 months) – When the mature pincer grasp is developed, you will notice your child picking up small objects with the tips of thumb and index finger, while holding forearm off of surface.
The four “mature” pencil grips are dynamic tripod, dynamic quadrupod, lateral tripod, and lateral quadrupod. The lateral or dynamic descriptor refers to the thumb placement, and the tripod or quadrupod signifies whether the pen rests on the middle or ring finger.
Dynamic Tripod Grasp: The final grasp in typically seen around 4-6 years old. This grasp will mature from being static to dynamic where all fingers can move independently and allow for precision while they are writing and drawing.
The Palmer Grasp starts to develop around 6-7 months of age. Baby starts to grasp an item more towards the thumb side of the palm and starts to use the thumb more.
A dynamic tripod grasp typically develops between 4-7 years of age where the pencil movement will occur through manipulation of the fingers and hand.
Around 4-5 years old, a static quadrupod grasp develops. Static means that the fingers still do not actively move, instead writing motions are driven by the wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints. Quadrupod refers to the 4 fingers that are involved (index, middle, ring + thumb).
Quadrupod Grasp, or Four Fingered Grasp- (3-4 years)- Crayon is held between their thumb, and tips of the pointer finger, middle finger, and ring finger. As the child progresses, these four fingers may pull down to the tip of the finger into a quadrupod grasp.
The palmer supinate grasp, or also often described as a “fisted grasp” or “gross grasp”, is when a kiddo picks up a pencil or crayon and holds it by closing all of their fingers around it. Kiddo's using a this grasp will move the pencil or crayon around using their whole arm.
A crude or “inferior” pincer grasp starts to develop around 8-9 months, while a superior or “true” pincer grasp starts to develop around 10-12 months. Why is a pincer grasp important? A pincer grasp is a helpful developmental skill for picking up and eating small pieces of food.
The Tripod Grip is a grip using three fingers of the hand - the thumb, index and middle fingers. A child typically develops this grip around the age of three or four. It is a functional grasp which is essential for a number of tasks, such as holding a pencil or fastening buttons.
Five finger grasp: The pencil is held with the tips of all five fingers. The movement when writing is primarily on the fifth finger side of the hand. Thumb tuck grasp: The pencil is held in a tripod or quadrupod grasp but with the thumb tucked under the index finger.
This skill usually develops in babies around 9 to 10 months old. The pincer grasp is an important fine-motor milestone. Children use their pincer grasp to pick things up and feed themselves, and it lays the foundation for a good pencil grip when they start school.
Static Tripod Grasp: Around Ages 3.5- 4 Years Old
This grasp utilizes 4 fingers where the thumb, index, and middle finger work together on the pencil and rest on the 4th finger. At this age, children typically should be able to copy a diagonal line, square, diagonal cross, circle, and triangle.
Kids usually develop this grasp between the ages of 4 and 6. The best way to help a child who hasn't mastered this developmental hurdle is a relaxed and fun approach.
At what age do kids hold pencils correctly? As mentioned above, kids adapt the Dynamic Tripod Pencil Grasp at the age of 4 to 6 years old. So if your child is younger, he might still be in the earlier stages of pencil grasp development, so there is no need to stress over correcting him now!
Four grasp patterns: (A) Dynamic tripod, (B) dynamic quadrupod, (C) lateral tripod, and (D) lateral quadrupod.
Pencil Grasp Development in Older Toddlers
Between two and three years of age, a child's pencil grasp will transition from the cylindrical grasp (this fisted, whole hand grasp) into the radial cross palmer, where the fingers are all pointed down toward the paper, rather than the palm.
The ulnar grasp, also known as the crude palmar grasp, is a type of power grip that involves the flexion of the ring and pinky fingers around an object (Dosman et al., 2012). A power grip is a type of grasp that involves the thumb and other fingers (Garcia Alvarez, 2017) such as the palmar grasp and radial grasp.