Your baby’s fine motor skill development at 2 months old. Follow your baby’s milestones step-by-step.
Fine motor skill development allows babies to learn how to use the little muscles in their hands and fingers to perform subtle movements, such as reaching for, grabbing, and handling small objects. Newborns have yet to master their fine motor skills, but over the next few months, your baby will learn to grip objects and move their fingers with a bit more control.
Fine motor skill development: 2 months old
At this age:
Remember that not all children develop the same skills at the same speed. The material on this website is for general information purposes only. If you’re concerned about your child’s development, speak with a doctor.
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Your baby can follow objects located up to 30 cm away with their eyes (e.g., a mobile).
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They keep their hands balled up most of the time but are gradually starting to relax their fingers.
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They move their arms around vigorously, without trying to grab anything.
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They can hold on to objects for 15–30 seconds before unintentionally dropping them.
Over the next few weeks, your baby will begin to do the following:
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Become fascinated by and stare at their hands.
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Intentionally close their fingers around objects placed in their hands.
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Bring their arms toward the centre of their body.
How can you help your baby progress?
Every child is different and develops at their own pace. That said, you can help foster your baby’s development by adopting the Comfort, Play, and Teach parenting approach, which can easily be integrated into your daily routine. The table below outlines small, age-specific actions you can take that will benefit your baby’s fine motor skill development.
Comfort
When you encourage your baby to hold one of your fingers while looking into their eyes and talking or singing to them, | | they gradually learn to open their fists. |
When you open your baby’s hand and guide it over your eyes, nose, mouth, and face, | | they relax their fists to try to touch you and gain the confidence to explore with their hands. |
Teach
When you slowly wave a colourful toy in front of your baby’s face, | | they learn to coordinate their eye and head movements to track objects. |
When you place your thumbs in your baby’s palms for them to grab on to, then gently move their arms out to the side before bringing them together and crossing them over their chest to the rhythm of a song, | | they enjoy the physical sensation of moving their arms on either side of their body. |
Play
When you bring your face close to your baby’s and encourage them to touch your nose, | | they reach for or swipe at your nose or other parts of your face, including objects like earrings. |
When you open your baby’s hand and brush it against different textures, | | they learn to touch things with different parts of their hands and perceive different tactile sensations. |
Photo: GettyImages/Birdland
Sources
Please note that hyperlinks to other websites are not updated regularly, and some may have changed since publication. It is therefore possible that a link may not be found. If a link is no longer valid, use search engines to find the relevant information.
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Ferland, Francine. Le développement de l’enfant au quotidien : de 0 à 6 ans. 2nd ed., Éditions du CHU Sainte-Justine, 2018, 264 pp.
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Canadian Paediatric Society. Caring for Kids. “Your child’s development: What to expect.” www.caringforkids.cps.ca
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Université de Montréal. “Portail enfance et familles : Les étapes de développement de l’enfant de la naissance à l’adolescence.” www.portailenfance.ca
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