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‘Cutting’ is a highly complex activity (occupation). Being competent and confident grasping and manipulating scissors relies on many underlying skills, including fine motor, gross motor and visual perceptual skills.
Many people are surprised to learn however, that sensory processing skills play such an important role in a child’s ability to efficiently use scissors!
WHY SHOULD KIDS BOTHER WITH CUTTING SKILLS ANYWAY?
Just as understanding mathematical concepts are valuable despite the existence of calculators; and handwriting coexists happily alongside computers and other electronic devices; similarly, scissors are not set to be replaced by guillotines or other cutting machines or gadgets anytime soon.
In fact, here are 4 TOP reasons to love cutting, and to develop efficient scissor skills:
1. Scissors offer so many creative opportunities in PLAY: construction, art and craft, parties/decoration, sensory, imaginative/symbolic play. Scissor skills can allow our ideas to become reality! Whether kids are interested in the process or the product, cutting can be so much fun!
(This should be reason enough, but wait, there’s more!…)
2. Cutting skills with scissors, prepares us for more complex cutting tools and tasks, where greater skill and precision is needed: For example, nail clippers, various types of scissors (small, long, large, industrial), secuteers, tweezers, chopsticks, pliers…
3. Many workplaces demand proficient cutting skills as an assumed, standard, core requirement of the job. For example, making laminated signs, preparing products, opening boxes and packaging, cooking/food handling; as well a whole range of trades which depend on high level scissor skills, from electricians to hairdressers, butchers, fisherman, chefs, and fashion industry workers.
4. Scissor skills are an important life skill. Scissor skills in daily tasks range from the ordinary (like cutting tags off new clothes, trimming nails, opening food packaging, and gift wrapping), to the special (such as cutting umbilical cords as we welcome newborn babies into the world, official openings and ceremonies, and chipping and splicing a cool new haircut).
Although we cannot even IMAGINE the jobs our children will pursue in the future, we do know that humans have used tools throughout history, and efficient scissor use sets kids up with PRACTICAL SKILLS FOR LIFE.
SENSORY PROCESSING AND SCISSOR SKILLS
Sensory processing underlies our success in ALL fine and gross motor tasks. (That is, all activities involving movement.)
Therefore, cutting efficiently and effectively, relies on efficient sensory processing.
When we receive accurate feedback from our senses, we are best able to:
- Remain calm and focused on the task at hand,
- Position our body,
- Grasp the scissors and paper,
- Coordinate both hands,
- Coordinate visual information and motor movements (visual motor integration),
- Use appropriate force and speed, and
- Adjust our movements based on how we are going mid task.
Efficient feedback allows us to plan, predict, sequence, time and coordinate smooth movements. This skill, which relies so heavily on efficient sensory processing, is called motor planning (praxis).
SENSORY PROCESSING DIFFICULTIES
When children experience inefficient sensory processing they may display the following difficulties when using scissors:
- Impulsive, fast paced, poorly controlled (even unsafe) cutting – almost snipping own fingers!
- Particularly slow, cautious, hesitant cutting
- Inconsistent grasping of the scissors (holding the scissors in different ways)
- Uncertainty and inefficiency with holding and manipulating the paper with the non dominant hand. (For example: Not moving or readjusting the paper and instead – bending and twisting the cutting hand; not holding the paper securely; or rotating the paper in an awkward manner)
- Intense frustration and difficulties persevering – maybe even ripping or tearing the paper
- Difficulties noticing errors and/or making adjustments and corrections whilst cutting
- Reluctance to engage in any cutting tasks (and lack of confidence with scissors)
By amplifying important sensory feedback, kids with sensory processing challenges can practise using scissors effectively, making them a fun tool to access in play!
EXTREME SCISSOR FUN
Now to BOMBARD THE SENSES so that the brain receives the correct information, loud and clear, about where the body is and what it needs to do when armed with a pair of scissors!
- Choose INTERESTING TEXTURES and materials requiring more muscle effort to cut than just plain paper: nature (leaves, barks, grass), cardboard (recycled items – cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, egg cartons), sandpaper, corrugated card, food (cheese, ham, spring onion, herbs, spaghetti-noodles…), playdough, theraputty, straws, pipe cleaners, …
- Try PAIRING SOUNDS to scissor work: Verbal cues, counting, chanting, singing, listening to music with a strong beat whilst cutting. Start slow and steady!
- Think BIG and BOLD visual cues! Thick, colourful lines; and visual prompts indicating where to hold the paper and where the scissors enter, and arrows indicating cutting direction.
- Allow TIME for kids to self reflect: How are you going? Still on the line? Which attempt was best?
- GRADED PRACTISE to reinforce the feel of correct scissor grasp and cutting action: single snips first, then 2 – 3 snips, then straight lines, curved lines, and interesting shapes.
- Visual, tactile and proprioceptive MODIFICATIONS to reinforce efficient positioning and motor memory: For example: blu tac to stick thumb in position in loop, scissors with a spring assisting the movement, resting elbows onto table, a ‘cheat sheet’ laminated on the desk showing how to set up for cutting (including where to put fingers, thumbs, elbows, and where to point the scissors), a sticker/smiley face/ mark on the thumb nails to encourage thumbs to face upwards.
- Hand over hand assistance in holding the scissors/paper correctly: providing further tactile/proprioceptive feedback about efficient positioning and smooth, coordinated movements.
- Work on overall BODY AWARENESS and MOTOR PLANNING: Activities involving tactile and proprioceptive sensory input (deep pressure/firm touch, and ‘heavy work’ activities, involving muscle effort). For example: Jump and Crash games, Star jumps, Scissor jumps, ‘pushing the wall over’ using hands or feet, ‘tug of war’, climbing, hanging, swinging – holding strongly onto the ropes, push ups (floor, wall or desk), hand squeezes, hand clapping games, ‘Simon Says’, ‘Follow the Leader’, yoga, ‘animal walks’ (eg. bear walking on hands and feet), crawling on uneven surfaces…
- Practise sensory TACTILE DISCRIMINATION activities: eg. tubs/bins of interesting textures, such as play dough, flour, rainbow rice, or shaving cream.
I always love to receive comments, so feel free to leave a thought or response to this post in the section below.
This post is part of the Functional Skills for Kids 12 Months Series by Occupational and Physical Therapists. Read all of my monthly posts in this series HERE.
Looking for more information about scissor skills from an occupational therapy and physical therapy perspective? You will LOVE this incredible resource co-authored by myself and the rest of the Functional Skills for Kids team: The Scissor Skills Book!
Find out more here: The Scissor Skills Book
Thanks for visiting Kids Play Space,
Until soon,
Happy playing,
Anna 🙂
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Brilliant! Who would have thought that so much goes into using scissors? Very useful. My daughter (6yrs) loves using scissors but doesn’t get as many chances as her peers as she’s left handed and whenever we did kids crafts at mum & toddler groups they would only ever have right handed ones. :/
Hi there ‘Hippy Christian Mum’! isn’t it incredible how common left handedness is, and yet how right-handed the world is?! Very frustrating! Your daughter will likely need to “BYO” (bring your/her own!) left handed scissors along with her most places! (I’d keep a spare pair in her bag!) Thanks for stopping by to comment! – Anna
Hi Anna!
I loved your article! A new perspective to fine motor training.
Im gonna use all your tips in my sessions!
Thank u 🙂
Rachel, B.O.T
Hi Rachel! I’m so happy you found some of this useful! Best wishes, Anna 🙂
Very thorough, as usual! My eldest daughter loved cutting when she was at preschooler age – over and over and over again. And now my youngest is at that age, she’s starting to become cutting obsessed too. I love all your ideas of how to vary it up, we’ll be trying some of those!
Thank Danya! I totally hear you on the ‘cutting obsession’ thing! My son is seriously wanting to cut up everything!!! – Anna:-)
My daughter is going through a cutting all the things phase, so really helpful from my point of view to read of all the benefits (because it was sending me a little nutty!)
Join the cutting gang Kelly! It can feel like a new super power to some kids!! At least it is a good, functional skill to develop and all that practise is awesome! – Anna 🙂
I love the examples you provided – surgeons cutting the umbilical cord, butchers cutting the meat, etc. It’s so true. You are right – the link between sensory processing and scissors is SURPRISING- but it’s there!
Hello!I want to ask about my student he is an autistic child of 6 years old. He has no eye hand coordination and fine motor skill as well. I make many activities for him but i can’t see any improvement on his these skills due to this in academic he can’t write and recognize please give me some ideas I will be very thankful of you.
Hi there, It is really difficult to make specific, individual recommendations without assessing the child themselves. It sounds like this student of yours has several challenges to take into consideration. I would suggest an occupational therapy review, and also, prioritising this little boy’s goals. All the best! Anna
Hello Anna, Great Arcticle!!! I was beginning to think my 4 year old was a pyro but with scissors. She can accurately use safety scissors, adult scissors, children’s scissors and even herb scissors. She can manipulate scissors so well that shes cutting up everything in the house. She sneaks into my room sometimes when I’m downstairs and she’s supposed to be sleeping just to cut any kind of paper she can find with my beauty shears. Small, very sharp, pointy scissors used for trimming hair, garments and Misc items. Anyway…I was reprimanding her but have decided to try a different approach and encourage her skills during the day while supervised in the hopes she will stop secretly cutting up important stuff. However, I’m afraid I may have just added fuel to the fire. We’ve gone over the rules of when’s it’s appropriate and when it’s not to use scissors but it hasn’t seemed to sink in and she’s starting to escalate from paper to other items. I found some of her hair on the bathroom floor after bedtime tonight and I still cannot locate the scissors. Is it possible to have an obsession with scissor cutting at such a young age? I’m pretty sure she’s hiding scissors in the house and getting her cutting frenzy on whenever she knows no one is looking. Am I just crazy? Any advice…she’s 4 going on 14 smh.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Lynzi! Thanks so much for sharing your story! I absolutely don’t think you are crazy! Children often go through little ‘phases’ of interests/passions/obsessions! One idea would be to set up a mini cutting station – maybe a box of ‘stuff’ that is fine for her to go ahead and cut – she could be encouraged to collect different appropriate things – eg. leaves, junk mail, old gift wrap/ribbon, recycling such as cereal box… and to check with you if it is ok for the cutting box! I would include scissors in a little play dough box along with other ‘tools’ like rollers/cutters etc, and talk about what is and isn’t okay to cut. (That she might or you might be sad if something important was cut and couldn’t be fixed)… I’d love to hear how she goes with a dedicated supply of interesting stuff to cut up though. You could keep popping new/novel things in there too – string, straws, pipe cleaners, packaging, … and maybe also add a few more tools or activity options – a scrapbook and glue? – an easel with paper? – a few clear, clean empty plastic bottles to fill (like a sensory/discovery bottle), – contact/clear protective paper sticky side out stuck to the window or a door for her to decorate with her cut up treasures! Good luck! Let me know how you go!! She may also like to help you with ‘real’ cutting jobs like the tips off beans, collecting herbs,…) Anna:-)