0mo–11mo10 minDevelopmental playFree playFamily time
Grab, Squeeze, Drop: Soft Treasure Basket
A simple floor-play routine where your child explores safe household objects to grasp, squeeze, and ‘throw’ (drop) into a container, building early hand control and cause-and-effect—always closely supervised.
What you'll need
Essentials
- a clear floor space with a blanket/play mat
- a small container (laundry basket, shallow box, or plastic bowl)
- 3–5 baby-safe household items to explore (e.g., soft washcloth, clean sponge, soft ball, large plastic stacking cup)
Nice to have
- a second container (to practice ‘in/out’)
- a small towel for wiping drool (mouth exploration is normal—supervise closely)
Movement level: low
What you'll do
The 4-step guide, with what to look for at each step, is for signed-in parents.
What this develops
- MilestoneReaches accurately and graspsBody· 3mo–6mo· stretch· Step 1
- MilestonePuts object into containerBody· 9mo–12mo· stretch· Step 3
- MilestoneExperiments with object actionsMind· 8mo–20mo· stretch· Steps 2, 3, 4
- MilestoneExplores or responds to texturesBody· 6mo–12mo· stretch· Steps 2, 4
- MilestoneReaches for nearby objectsBody· 4mo–11mo· core
- MilestoneHolds one object in each handBody· 4mo–10mo· core
- MilestonePincer grasp for small objectsBody· 8mo–12mo· stretch
- MilestoneBangs two held objects togetherBody· 8mo–10mo· stretch
What it practices
- Reaches out for, touches and begins to hold objects.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Explores objects with mouth, often picking up an object and holding it to the mouth.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Watches and explores hands and feet, e.g. when lying on back lifts legs into vertical position and grasps feet.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
Where it comes from
- Source
- Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE, 2012)
- Original guidance
- “Encourage babies to use resources they can grasp, squeeze and throw.”
- License
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Crown Copyright 2012 (Development Matters in the EYFS, DfE)