ROCKING & ROLLING and use clothes pins to hang them on a line. She introduces the clothes pins as tools that require a“ friendly pinch” to open. She also identifies other activities that call for pinching, like salt-dough pinch pots, to offer children a variety of positive entry points for this behavior. Over time, Cassandra stops pinching peers while all the toddlers in Sheril’ s setting benefit from fine motor experiences that nurture hand and finger strength.
To support Cassandra’ s emerging social and emotional skills, Sheril approached this dilemma with the frame of a skills gap( Hemmeter et al. 2022). Rather than treating the behavior as a problem, Sheril decided to offer opportunities to model pinching in appropriate ways that toddlers are likely to enjoy: Through real-life tasks like hanging items on a clothesline and through rich, sensory play. These experiences provided sensory feedback, cause-and-effect discovery, and opportunities to be independent in ways that encouraged parallel play and positive peer interactions.
Intentional teaching requires an understanding of both child development generally and each child’ s current skill levels and what they’ re working toward( NAEYC 2020; 2025). These dual foci allow educators to purposefully select materials, design activities, and plan for learning settings that will offer the richest opportunities for practice and mastery( Mincemoyer 2016; Masterson & Mazzocco 2025). In the infant and toddler setting, this means“ discovering a very young child’ s interests and structuring activities and the environment to extend and support these within a supportive relationship”( Chazan-Cohen et al. 2017, 6).
For example, in the above vignette, Sheril paused to reflect on a behavior and consider the reasons behind it. Was it aligned with toddlers’ development and with their interests and preferences? She understood that toddlers are exploring and testing limits in their environments and are just beginning to understand that others experience feelings( like they do). They also are rapidly mapping the patterns and cause-and-effect relationships in their world, testing actions to see what happens— both one time and consistently. And they are seeking opportunities to be independent and to have an impact on the world.
Sheril knew that pinching is an early fine motor skill that toddlers refine as they grow toward using writing utensils. She also knew that pinching a peer is likely to elicit feedback that taps into many of the areas described above. Yet it is a behavior that cannot persist over time.
Families are often the best sources of information about the skills that infants and toddlers are working on( or have mastered) and the types of activities they prefer. Conversations with them offer rich insights into their children in ways that program-only observations cannot. These discussions are also an important way to engage and uplift families as the experts on their children( Koralek et al. 2019). Sheril had been speaking with Cassandra’ s family over time, sharing instances of the pinching behavior and the steps she was taking to reduce its frequency. Cassandra’ s family noted that she loved sensory play and sought it out whenever she could. This information gave Sheril the idea to add a salt-dough activity to her“ pinching plan.”
Supporting Children Through Scaffolding
Carly has observed her class of infants become increasingly interested in exploring balls. Currently, her room has four babies, ranging in age from 3 to 9 months. She decides to introduce smooth, plastic balls in different sizes( small, medium, and large) as objects to explore.
Some babies are able to sit up and reach for the balls. Carly watches as one picks up a ball, examines it, and mouths it. Another baby lies on their back, grabs a ball, and shakes it in the air. The
86 Young Children
Summer 2026