What Is A Baby Grip?

A healthy baby instinctively knows many things and has different reflections at birth. Most of the early reflections disappear after the first 3-6 months of life as the child’s central nervous system and involuntary movements develop. One of these involuntary reflections is adhesion reflection.

What is a baby’s grip reflector?

Everyone who has been in contact with young children has certainly noticed that the baby needs to grab everything close to him. The grip reflector means that the baby wraps his fingers tightly around the object. It is thus initially an involuntary activity which later turns into a voluntary movement.

Just a few things in the world give as insane a feeling as a touch of a baby’s soft hands. It’s always moving when a baby starts grasping the things around them – this is a person’s first step in interacting with the environment. The child’s touch can be the parents’ fingers, a small toy or, for example, the mother’s hair. When your baby grabs your hair, you will notice how strong and firm the grip caused by the grasping reflex is. It is said that when a baby squeezes an adult’s finger, he can be lifted to his feet on a flat surface and still not let go.

The strange thing about this reflex is that it is not just about the baby’s hands. Similarly, if something touches the baby’s soles of the feet, his toes curl as if to try to grasp the object that touches him. According to experts, such reflexes are the result of evolution. Our ancestors had hair all over their bodies, and this act allowed the baby to catch his mother when the danger came.

Characteristics of the adhesive reflector

The adhesion reflector can be described, inter alia, as follows:

• Like all other reflexes, an adhesion reflector is an involuntary act that is a reaction to a stimulus. It is observed in the baby’s hands and feet.

• Infection reflection occurs during the first and second months of a baby’s life.
• It is a sign that the child’s nervous system is working well.
• By the third month, the baby’s grip begins to decline, but his ability to move and control the body is better.
• By the fourth month and beyond, the baby’s senses are much more mature, and his actions become more appropriate and focused, although he is still unable to assess distances. From now on, the baby’s coordination develops quickly and he or she is able to grasp the desired thing with both hands.
• The adhesion reflection appears slightly longer in the legs (3-6 months) than in the hands.

Stimulation of baby adhesion reflector

There are easy ways to stimulate your baby’s grip reflector that can be used on a daily basis. The easiest – but at the same time most effective – way to do this is to take your finger towards the baby’s palm and let it grip it. In the same way, the gripping reflex of the foot can be stimulated by placing a finger or, for example, a pen towards the baby’s soles of the feet. If a baby curls his toes as if trying to grab an object, a classic leg gripping reflex is seen.

Parents should stimulate the child at an early stage, as this promotes mobility and introduces the baby to new feelings. Everything that involves moving your hands and feet, exercising your senses, and even stroking or relaxing exercises is helpful in making your baby more aware of their own body. This way he gets better used to new movements. Other great aids for this stage are music and colorful toys with lights as the baby’s sense of hearing and sight is evolving.

Other baby developmental reflections

In addition to the grip reflector, there are many other reflexes that occur during the first months of a baby’s life. These include:

• Moron reflection or flare reflection : The flare reflection can be detected immediately after birth. When the baby’s upper body is allowed to fall a short distance, this spreads its upper and lower limbs to the sides and may rake air with its hands.
• Searching and sucking reflection: When the baby’s cheek or the area around the mouth is touched, the baby turns its head in the same direction and starts looking for the mother’s nipples. The baby begins to suck when he gets a nipple or pacifier in his mouth.
• Walking Reflection : Walking reflection occurs when a baby is held in the armpits in an upright position so that his feet touch the platform. In this case, the child lifts his legs, as if to try to walk.
• Parachute Reflector: This protective reflex occurs when the baby feels falling. In this case, the child reaches out his hand quickly as if trying to grab something above him or to protect himself from falling.

Certain reflexes, such as sneezing, yawning, coughing, vomiting, and blinking, persist in a person throughout life.