What age did your kids start using scissors?

T

Tracyfish

New member
Just curious about this because I never thought to put them in the hands of my rambutious 3 year old, but now they do it at preschool and he is behind in those skills.

So how did your kids learn to use scissors? what age?

L.J. just doesn't seem to have the coordination to do it yet.
 
when i taught preschool we used them beginning 18 mos. the hand muscles you use for cutting are the same as the ones you use for writing. that's why it's done so early :)

just buy safety scissors, keep them put up, and let them cut lines in construction paper a few times a week. :)
 
My oldest (now 6) didn't use scissors until she went to preschool at 3. It hadn't even occurred to me to let her try I guess. She was a bit behind on that skill too but so were lots of the kids - they all caught up quickly. :) My second daughter (now 3) has been using scissors since she was old enough to pick them up because since she's got an older sister they've always been around. LOL Funny how that works. :p
 
Around age 4. Using scissors is considered a fine motor skill and fine motor skills are usually not developed until around age 3 or 4.

eta: boys usually develop fine motor skills later then girls.
 
Mason didn't until he was in Kindergarten (nearly 5 years old). Natalie has played with them since then because she'd want to play too when he was practicing (he's behind in fine motor skills BUT also he had lost some feeling in his hands/feet while he was on chemo, which has come back since he's been off treatment).
 
If he doesn't, that's cool, Tracy - I start with them as soon as they show interest, but we're late scissor people, too. The motion required to work scissors doesn't come early with most boys, but you can do a lot of activities that mimic the motion to help. Any pinching move is a good exercise to work on those muscles. Our favorite is a pair of chopsticks that are connected at one end that we pick up cotton balls with. But you can do it with a big set of tweezers, too.

We also just hack away at paper when we get our scissors first. Then we work at cutting fringe, and then lines, and then shapes. All along the edge of a paper. It's the easiest way for them to learn a little control over the scissors before they have to start cutting out shapes. I just draw small lines on the edge of paper and have them follow those lines. But the hacking is always great fun LOL
 
My daughter was born with very low muscle tone, and so her gross motor are behind (not REALLY behind, she's just three, and can walk, run, skip, but not jump, and she has trouble climbing, etc. on the playground without a LOT of practice) but her fine motor is great, so we were told by her pediatrition to really encourage her fine motor... she started using playdough scissors with playdough around age two (and seemed to hold them perfectly the first time) she now loves to practice cutting straight lines with her small preschool scissors. I have to add that my daughter is really careful, and understood the concept of 'we only cut PAPER' right away, so I don't worry about having them within her reach.

I would start with playdough if you can, with playdough scissors. That is really easy to snip and builds confidence. I guess you could use regular preschool scissors too. It's a tough action to get the hang of. Then try construction paper. Anything finer than that is harder...

It seems to be the opening of the scissors rather than the closing that some kids have trouble with, so look for the kind of scissors that spring back if you think that might be your sons problem. I havn't used them myself, but I know other families who do.
 
And don't think that he is behind! Motor skills are not something that can be "taught." They are something that you develop as you grow.
 
I was waaay behind, Natalie snuck scissors and cut off most of Hillary's curls last year...so they were pretty much banned. But when she went to kindergarten she got low marks for her "scissor skills" She didn't know how to hold them properly. She calls them snizzors....
 
Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I knew that boys developed those skills later, I guess I was just surprised that all the other kids in the class were already doing it (although he is the only new kid in the class this year, the rest moved up from the 2's over the summer).

We'll just keep trying it when he wants to at the house and I will definitely try the Play-Doh ones too. That might be easier to begin with.
 
Age 3-4. Rae uses them now, and she'll be 4 in Nov.

They did not though, become proficient until they were closer to 4 1/2 at preschool. Rae is pretty good with them though, I've been teaching her how to use them properly, since she is obessessed with them.
 
DS started using them at 3 or 4 in preschool...DD isn't allowed to play with them right now...:( She's...ummmm...testy. LOL
 
My son's preschool had a cutting table, that I thought was pretty ingenious -- just a big plastic bin with lots of paper and stuff in it to cut. They seemed to like it because you didn't have to be neat and you could cut anything and in any way you want.

You could easily just use a plastic storage bin, put a variety of papers in it and a pair of scissors, and pull that out once in a while for cutting practice.
 
Logan was about 4 years old. I knew that for preschool he was going to need to know how to use them, so I got a pair of kids blunt tip Fiskars (those really seem to be the best kid's scissors). I just let him cut up junk mail and old magazines. He was mostly just making lots of confetti, but he got comfortable with scissors. Now that he is 5, I can draw a heart or star or whatever and he can cut it out. I was told that was a good skill to have before kindy starts.
 
lmao... never. :D jk.. It's on my "list of things I need to get over and let ce use" .. but he's been banned from them since he stole MY scissors and cut a hole in one of his hoodies :D (he'll be 5 in december LOL)
 
My boys are yet to use them LOL Wes is three and Noah is one! I think Lily started in preschool but I like Sammi banned them from my house cause she cut all her hair off!! Right in the front, it was awful!
 
Rachel got her first pair of safety scissors last month, and she'll be 3 in October. They're all plastic, and only cut paper...actually, I'd be surprised if they'd cut butter. But it's not really the cutting that I want her to do, it's the practice and working on motor skills.
When I taught pre-k 4's, we asked parents to bring Fiskars for Kids as a school supply...they work SO much better. The 2's and 3's brought safety scissors.
 
Abby had a pair of safety scissors when she was 2.. but yeah.. safety scissors can still cut hair. She has a pair now that she is 4 1/2. :)
 
I'm so glad you asked this!! Libby is 3.5 and I've never thought to get her a pair of safety scissors. I was talking to her daycare teacher the other day and she was talking about how careful and particular Libby is when she uses the scissors. I was shocked!! I had been cutting everything for her everytime we do a project. Now I think I'll buy her the scissors and let her fine tune her skills herself!!
 
stayawake said:
I would start with playdough if you can, with playdough scissors. That is really easy to snip and builds confidence. I guess you could use regular preschool scissors too. It's a tough action to get the hang of. Then try construction paper. Anything finer than that is harder...
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My girls just got a bunch of play doh toys, and they have used those scissors on the play doh. I think that's a good start for us right now, and they are pretty easy. LOL *sidenote* I love watching them use them, they get that slack wide open mouth face when they do it and they're concentrating so hard! I just love it! :p
 
don't know when DS started but DD started using scissors at 2ish. I used to give her a piece of paper and scissors to keep her occupied. She would just happily snip snip snip away.
 
My boys started at different times. JP was about 2, at his daycare. He was also allowed to use scissors, supervised, at home from that age. Devin didn't start until he was a couple months past his third birthday, as part of his OT regimen. He's still not allowed to use scissors at home, even supervised, since the low tone in his arms/hands causes him to lose his grip on them a bit too often.
 
good question -i'll have to read all the replies here. DD is 3 and i rarely let her have even the play-doh scissors cos she tried to cut her tongue the first time she had them (at like 2.5 yrs!) i don't even know if she uses them on tuesdays at daycare!?!?
 
I think maybe 4? just the little kid plastic ones.
She's smart as a whip but it took the poor kid forever to get the hang of it. She just could not use them right, I don't know why......but it took until about mid way through Kindergarten. Then she got it :)
 
I bought Jack safety scissors at 2 because he kept using mine. He loves to cut. He's not so good at it, but he has a lot of fun.
 
When I took my oldest son Alex to his first day of preschool the teacher was setting kids up at activities and she turned to me and said "can he cut with scissors?" and I was like WHAT??? He just turned 3, why would I give him scissors??? LOL! I felt like the biggest dork - I think I was so stuck in pregnancy after pregnancy I forgot to keep up on my reading and I had no idea that kids could (should?) be cutting at that age. Anyway - she handed him a pair of scissors and he swiftly cut across a piece of paper. LOL So I guess he could. I just didn't know. :p
 
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