Helping with cutting skills
Using scissors successfully to cut is an important functional skill for all children. We know giving children scissors comes is potential hazards, such as an ‘accidental’ self or sibling haircut, or the realignment of curtain lengths. In spite of this, we also know it’s helpful to get children started early so they have some skills before they start school. In this article, I will give you six simple tips for teaching scissor skills to children who are finding learning to cut with scissors more difficult. You can use the tips with any child, not just those who are struggling with their cutting skills.
This article will give you six ideas but, if you need more specific ideas and supports for teaching scissor skills, the fine motor and handwriting programme included with the GriffinOT membership has specific section on scissor skills. You can learn more about our membership here.
Helping with cutting skills
Using scissors successfully to cut is an important functional skill for all children. We know giving children scissors comes is potential hazards, such as an ‘accidental’ self or sibling haircut, or the realignment of curtain lengths. In spite of this, we also know it’s helpful to get children started early so they have some skills before they start school. In this article, I will give you six simple tips for teaching scissor skills to children who are finding learning to cut with scissors more difficult. You can use the tips with any child, not just those who are struggling with their cutting skills.
This article will give you six ideas but, if you need more specific ideas and supports for teaching scissor skills, the fine motor and handwriting programme included with the GriffinOT membership has specific section on scissor skills. You can learn more about our membership here.
Six ideas to help children with improve their cutting skills
These ideas are relevant for children who already have an interest in using scissors, but need a little help. If the child you are supporting is not yet paying any attention to scissors and cutting, I would recommend that you start with play and other motor skills. I explore some ideas for early motor skill here.
1. Ensure the child is holding both the paper and the scissors
This might sound quite obvious, but it is a common error I see in the classroom. Often the adult will ‘help’ the child by holding the paper and letting the child only hold the scissors. In order to be successful with cutting skills, children need to learn to use both of their hands together. They must be able to hold the paper steady and in the right position for the scissors. Then, they need to learn how to line the scissor up with the paper. If the adult is holding the paper for the child, they don’t learn scissor skills correctly as they aren’t learning how to coordinate both hands at the same time.
When helping a child learn to use scissors, make sure you help them use both hands. If they need help holding the paper, instead of holding the paper for them, support their second hand to hold the paper. This will help them to learn that they need to use both hands together when cutting.
2. A child that has their thumbs facing the ceiling will develop more mature scissor skills
It is essential that the child has their thumbs facing the ceiling. This tip applies to both hands. They must position their hands so that their thumbs are on top and their little finger faces the floor. It is important they do this with both the hand holding and scissors and the hand holding the paper. So, their thumb will be on the top and their fingers will be underneath.
Frequently you will see children turn their hand over, so their fingers are on the top of the paper or scissors. This reduces the movement and control they have over their hands when cutting. The result is the child has less control when they move the paper and scissors. The incorrect hand position restricts the amount of movement available. Therefore, it is extremely important that the thumbs of both hands face the ceiling. As the child’s scissor skills mature they will start to hold the paper in their finger tips instead of their whole hand. I explore this further in the training within my fine motor programme.
3. Make sure the child is looking!
Again, this might sound obvious, but it is essential to check. Too often I have watched adults helping children with their cutting skills where the child is not paying any visual attention to the activity. The adult is supporting them hand over hand. The child’s hands are making some movements. However, the child is not looking at what they are cutting. A child will never be successful or accurate with their cutting unless they are looking at the scissors and paper whilst they are cutting. If the child isn’t showing any interest, maybe their are not ready to be learning to cut and they need to be working on earlier fine motor skills. I give some ideas for preparatory fine motor skill activities in this article. My fine motor programme is also full of ideas for children who are not ready to cut with scissors.
4. Start learning cutting skills with BBQ tongs
For children that are really struggling to co-ordinate the idea of squeezing scissors, tongs can be a nice place to start. Reaching out for things with BBQ tongs can be a lot of fun! As can snapping onto things. Using kitchen tongs is a good next step. Then the child can use ice tongs as these are smaller and a similar size to scissors. Once the child has the ides of squeezing and better hand control they could also try tweezers. So, whilst it might feel like a sideways step, using tongs and tweezers can be great way to help a child practice the hand movements required for cutting skills.
5. Consider self-opening or spring loaded scissors
If the child is really struggling to use scissors with one hand, purchase a pair of self-opening scissors. These scissors have a spring in them that makes them automatically open. The benefit of this is that the child doesn’t have to focus on the opening and closing part of cutting. It means they can learn to line up the scissors with the thing they are cutting. The child can practice this without having to coordinate the opening and closing. It allows them to practice using both hands together. And it gives them an opportunity to practice their scissors skills without being as frustrated.
The long term goal would be for these children to use standard scissors. However, self-opening scissors can be a great starting point for children that just can’t organise cutting with standard scissors. They are also good for children who lack the hand strength to open and close standard scissors.
I highly recommend the PETA scissors as they are high quality. They also come with left and right handed options for most versions. Their loop scissors come in a variety of sizes which are suitable for children of different ages. Obviously the smaller ones are most suited to children with smaller hands. The 5cm blade is then suitable for most other children. Please note I have no affiliation with PETA and make this recommendation solely from personal experience and satisfaction with using the product.
6. Most importantly – ensure that the child has the correct scissors for their handedness
It is essential to ensure that left handed children have left handed scissors. This is not negotiable! I discuss the difference between right and left handed scissors here in this post. It is difficult for a left handed child to see what they are cutting if they are using standard scissors. Make sure all adults are aware of the left handed children in the classroom. In addition, as the left handed scissors usually have a different colour handle to right handed scissors, teach each child what colour scissors they need to choose from an early age. You can learn more about the differences between right and left handed scissors here.
GriffinOT resources to help with scissor skills
My scissor skills programme is now included within the GriffinOT membership. The membership includes the fine motor skill programme, my scissor skills programme and my handwriting programme Write Rules, and my sensory aware training. You can learn more about the membership here.
Date last updated by Kim: 23rd February 2025
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