Shear, gentlemen, shear

  

Shearing is one of the most complex actions for children. and why so? Because it is a lateral (bilateral) action that requires motor control and precision in both hands even though each is doing a different action. The dominant hand is the cut while the other hand plays an equally important role - it is called an auxiliary hand and its role is to stabilize the page, rotate it according to the shear movement and facilitate the cutting work done by the dominant hand.

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Here are 10 important tips on cutting that will help your child cut

In occupational therapy, there is a constant reference to the person, his occupation and his environment. Let's detail it by decree:

 

1. The person

The recommendations talk about exposure to scissors, cutting and training the holding of scissors around the age of two and a half to three years. You can expose the child before and play games related to scissors but do not expect him to cut (up to age 4 or so). The shear requires very good control of the muscles of the wrist, fingers and wrist at a high level that can not be expected from a child who is not ready.

 

2. The occupation

The derivation is a complex operation that requires motor, physical-muscular maturity as well as cognitive readiness to understand the task and the way to the solution. In order to teach a child to cut, you have to start with bristles, drinking straws and more. In addition, we will start with a completely free cut, we will continue to cut straight lines and only then we will continue to zigzag and circles (which are considered the most complex shape for cutting). It is recommended to start with large shapes.

 

3. The environment

Adjust the size of the scissors to the age and the size of the child's palm. For small children, small scissors should be fitted. When scissors are too large, the muscles of the hand are busy holding and stabilizing the scissors instead of practicing cutting. Good primary scissors are about 3/4 the length of a pen (or pencil), the cutting part (silver) is shorter and there is a separation between a small hole for the thumb and a larger hole for the rest of the fingers (some scissors can be purchased at overseas sites. For the remaining three fingers).

 

4. Another tip about the environment

When you want to start practicing cutting, make sure that the child is sitting comfortably on a chair at a table that is suitable for him at a height. I know? There should be a 90-degree angle in the ankles, knees and thighs.

That is, the entire foot of the footrests on the floor.

 

5. Holding the scissors

When teaching the child how to hold the scissors explain to him that the thumb is always up. That is, the child's eye should always see the thumb. Children have a tendency to lift the whole hand (from the shoulder) and turn it in order to cut. We want to teach the child to "save" energy and not embrace the whole hand because otherwise he will get tired quickly and will not be able to finish the activity he started.

 

6. Opening and closing

If it has difficulty opening and closing the scissor blades, it can be cut into dough and plasticine - materials with a higher level of resistance. Thus it strengthens the muscles of the fingers, the muscles of the wrist and the muscles of the wrist.

 

7. Start cutting

When the child is right-handed for that matter, I will always ask him to start cutting from the right side to the left side so that the page does not interfere with him during the cutting. In addition, this will make it easier for him to control the scissors and the page.

 

8. Energy over time

Shearing is not a simple operation that can be tiring over time, so we want to exercise as little muscle as possible to conserve energy over time. In the shear itself only the muscles of the fingers and wrist should act. In the initial cut, the child will also activate the elbow and sometimes also the shoulder to stabilize the hand, but we must, over time, eradicate this behavior and remain only with the fingers and wrist.

 

9. Hand movement

During the cutting, it is recommended to teach that only the auxiliary hand (in the case of a right-handed child, this will be the left hand) moves and adapts itself to the movement and position of the cutting hand. The scissors stay in place. When we cut only the auxiliary hand moves and moves the page according to the movement of the scissors.

 

10. Page remnants

When the child cuts and leaves of a leaf begin to form, help him and lower them. Most of the time they will disturb the child. When the child grows up he will do it alone (without tearing the part he needs).