If your kid’s preschool has started teaching cutting papers with scissors, there is nothing to be worried about. You, too, can grab a blunt tip paper scissor and start helping your preschool kid with scissors because scissor cutting comes with significant benefits in your child’s development.
For obvious reasons, your kid’s little fingers and their limited holding ability makes it challenging for a bit of preschooler to be proficient in his paper cutting talents. But, if they learn to cut with scissors ( link), you will see a notable change in his or her snipping talent in no time. This change has come due to some underlying life-changing benefits of scissor cutting.
You will in no time marvel at the sea change in your child’s fine motor and mental skills. Let’s look at those benefits now.
11 Preschool Benefits of Cutting with Scissors
So, there are several significant reasons why you should teach your preschooler to use scissors.
1. Development of Bilateral Coordination
It is essential because it encourages preschoolers to use both sides of their bodies at the same time. After all, one hand will be cutting, and the other one will be holding the paper and turning it accordingly.
The skill comes in handy when doing things such as opening an envelope, buttoning a shirt, and washing dishes.
2. Increment of the hand-eye coordination
The truth is that your child will need to use the hand to cut the paper or material of choice. Simultaneously, they will have to use the eyes to see what they are cutting to cut it as expected.
Doing the two tasks simultaneously will enhance eye-hand coordination. This skill also makes it easy for your kid to eat using a fork or spoon, zipper a coat and catching and throwing a ball.
3. Strengthening hands and fingers
It is also a great way of strengthening not only fingers but also the hand. Using scissors will facilitate that since it involves using the fingers and squeezing the hands, which builds finger muscles.
4. Enhancing Motor Skills
Once they have strong fingers and hands, the motor skills improve. Consequently, it becomes easy for them to learn how to write using a pencil once they come.
Other tasks requiring fine motor skills include dressing, coloring, painting, using various utensils, and brushing teeth. The bottom line is that the skills determine how well your toddler can hold, grip, and manipulate objects.
5. Improvement of Focus and Attention
Another importance of using scissors is for the sake of focus and attention. While cutting using scissors, the kid will learn how to pay attention to details, which is crucial in any human life.
It comes in handy when playing an instrument, doing various projects, following necessary instructions, and so on.
6. Determination of the dominant hand
As a baby, it is hard to tell the dominant hand and the helping hand. Using scissors will help you and the child know which hand is dominant and the helping one. A child will use the dominant hand to open and close the scissors and the helping one to hold the paper and rotate it if a need arises.
7. Promoting Grasp Pattern
One of the most useful grasp patterns is the tripod grip, which involves using three fingers, middle, index, and thumb fingers.
Given how one holds the scissors, using them to cut will help develop it. It will be of use later on since it also applies when fastening buttons and holding a pencil.
8. Visual perceptual tasks
When cutting a line along with a piece of paper, the child will often switch his eyes’ direction. By doing so, it will have a tremendous and positive impact on his visual motor.
9. Independent movements of every finger
The act of cutting using scissors is all about learning how to move each finger independently as well. Therefore, your child learns to move the thumb, index, middle, ring, and pinkie fingers each at a time.
10. Determines the handwriting
There are high chances of a preschooler who uses scissors to have nice and legible handwriting. After all, cutting and writing use the same skills, and practice makes perfect.
11. Understanding Shapes
When those chubby little fingers follow the directions to cut, they understand shapes. It becomes easier for kids to cut with shapes to understand shapes. What is the difference between a line and a curve, A box, or a circle? These things can be easily understood by him when the kid realizes the final shape it can form with the little cuts.
Final Words
Learning scissor skills at a very early age is a boon, but it has to be performed under an adult’s supervision. It is an engaging activity that offers your kid innumerable benefits. So throw your worry in the bin and teach your kid how to use scissors right now.
