Raking Grasp
Uses fingers to rake small objects toward self, demonstrating developing fine motor control
What the research says
Referenced across 2 developmental frameworks: asq_3 · cdc_milestones
Full quotes, source languages, and document links coming soon as we finish the source-evidence indexing pass.
Normative evidence
1 source back this milestone. The bars below show the age range each source covers.
Before this (4)
Required (1)
- Toy GraspingMin: secureBasic grasping must be established before refined raking emerges
Helpful
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Character (3)
How it's taught
Provide safe finger foods for practice; offer small objects during play; supervise closely to prevent choking; celebrate attempts; provide varied textures and sizes; allow self-feeding opportunities
Materials: Safe finger foods (soft, dissolvable), small toys (larger than choking hazard size), textured objects, high chair or safe eating surface
What mastery looks like
Cannot retrieve small objects, may bat at them or use whole hand
- Bats at small objects without grasping
- Uses whole hand palmer grasp only
- Cannot isolate finger movements
- Shows no raking motion
Beginning to use fingers to move objects but movement is imprecise
- Attempts to use fingers but movement is clumsy
- May successfully rake objects occasionally
- Uses multiple fingers together without differentiation
- Success varies by object size
Uses fingers to rake food or small objects toward self
- Uses fingers to 'rake' food towards himself
- Raking motion is clear and purposeful
- Can retrieve small objects using raking
- Shows increasing finger differentiation
- Uses raking for various small objects
Efficiently uses raking grasp and begins transitioning to pincer grasp
- Rakes objects efficiently and quickly
- Can rake multiple small objects in sequence
- Beginning to use thumb and fingers together
- Shows emerging pincer grasp for some objects
- Adjusts raking strategy based on object properties
Has fully transitioned to pincer grasp, using raking only when strategically appropriate
- Primarily uses pincer grasp for small objects
- Uses raking strategically for multiple objects
- Shows sophisticated understanding of when each grasp type is most efficient
- Can switch between grasp types fluidly
- Raking is integrated into complex manipulation sequences
Activities for this (12)
Self-Feeding Start
Parent offers finger foods and the agent coaches the parent to observe baby's reaching, grasping, hand-to-mouth coordination, and developing independence during self-feeding. This activity builds practical life skills through mealtime independence.
Tiny Treasure Hunt
A playful activity where your child practices using their fingers to rake small, safe objects toward themselves, building fine motor control.
Cause and Effect Exercise
Parent encourages baby to pick up and drop toys, then pull a blanket to retrieve a distant toy. The agent coaches the parent to observe reaching, grasping, and early cause-and-effect understanding as baby learns that actions produce predictable results.
Exploring Textures
Parent lets baby touch food or different textured materials during mealtime or free play. The agent guides the parent to observe how baby grasps, explores, and reacts to various textures — building tactile discrimination, hand transfer skills, and sensory curiosity.
Sensory exploration
This helps develop fine motor skills and the perception of textures. As babies acquire fine motor skills, they can begin to engage in more independent activities, such as holding their own bottle, picking up small objects, and participating in games that require manipu
The truck
This helps teach your baby new strategies to reach an object. Show your baby how she can bring an object closer to her like the toy truck or a stuffed animal by tying a rope to it. Let your baby try to pull the rope and repeat this activity for 5 to 10 minutes.
Finding Hidden Toys
This helps enhance your baby's fine motor skills. Search for hidden toys to support fine motor development. Hide small toys under a light blanket. Invite your child to find them using both hands. Watch how they lift the blanket and grab the toys. Rep
Book Page Turning
Parent places small cereal pieces on book pages and encourages baby to pick them up and turn pages. The agent coaches the parent to observe baby's finger dexterity, pincer grasp development, and early book interaction skills — building fine motor control and hand-eye coordination.
Leaf Transfer Play
Parent engages baby in transferring dry leaves between two bowls, observing grasping patterns and sensory exploration. The agent coaches the parent to notice raking grasp development, whole-hand grasping attempts, and sensory curiosity — building fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination through natural materials.
Laugh and Reach
Parent uses a noisy toy and playful sounds to encourage baby to laugh and interact, then moves slightly away to see if baby will reach or move toward them. The agent coaches the parent to observe social laughter, imitative play attempts, and early communication through sound and movement — building social engagement and motivation for mobility.
Grab and Pull
Parent presents a bright toy to baby, observing how baby communicates interest through arm movements and facial expressions before attempting to grab and pull the object. The agent coaches the parent to notice early communication signals, coordination attempts, and emotional expression — building foundational language and motor skills through interactive play.
The Worm
This helps learn to finger-paint. To complete this activity, give your child a blank sheet of paper with previously drawn grass. Give her a little bit of washable paint so that with her thumb she can form a worm. Now ask your child to
Formal assessments
No matching assessment items indexed yet.