Pass it hand to hand

0–1 years · Motor · 6 minutes

What you need

How to do it

Offer your baby a light object — a soft ring, a wooden spoon — held out to one side so they must reach across with a specific hand.

Once it is held, offer a second object to the same hand. To take it, they have to move the first one across.

Do not move their hands for them. If the object drops, that is a real attempt; hand it back and let them try again.

Why it works

Moving an object from one hand to the other means both sides of the body coordinating on a shared goal, which requires the two brain hemispheres to communicate. It is a developmental milestone in its own right and the root of every later two-handed skill.