Cutting is a complex task that requires a lot of eye hand coordination and motor planning.  Children develop cutting skills in the following sequence:

2 1/2 year olds can open and close the scissors to snip

3 1/2 year olds can make consecutive cuts across small stiff paper like an index card

4 1/2 year olds can turn the paper and cut our simple shapes with thick lines on small stiff paper

Watch this video  for a quick tip to adapt cutting activities for children who are still at the snipping level.

Mary Kostka is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist specializing in Sensory Processing Disorder at  her  private practice, ‘Ohana Occupational Therapy, LLC,   in Wenatchee and Leavenworth Washington.