Age for using scissors

[leapinglemur]

My 'lovely' Mums/Toddler group have got me worried. At what age should a child be able to use scissors properly e.g. cut an A4 sheet of paper, cut out objects with one hand?

DD doesn't own any scissors (she'll be 3 in a few months). The Toddler group mums were all saying that she should be using them by now and she should be able to cut various shapes out. Then the 'when she goes to pre-school, they'll have to work with her...it is a requirement for nursery...blah blah blah.

I'm not about to rush out and buy a set of scissors jsut to keep up with the other mums but what is the average age for them to master this?

No idea, but ds (4 in feb) is still crap with scissors. Bollox to the 'requirement at nursery' stuff though - I've not come across any with an entrance exam...

"they'll have to work with her"

What, spend a few seconds showing her how they work??????

These panic-spreaders shouldn't be allowed to mix with normal folk.

Was caught out at ds's first nursery school parents' evening. Teacher commented 'he has the most pathetic interesting technique I've ever seen'. Poor ds had no idea at all as I'd never allowed him to play with scissors - the plastic child's set I'd bought him were bloody useless so had given up after the first couple of attempts.

Get her some 'play' scissors but make sure they are metal (with rounded tips, obv), don't waste your money on plastic ones!

Its usually at pre-school that they learn how to use? Its where dd did anyhow.

It varies enormously. Yes some children are very adept at using scissors by 3 and can cut out shapes with surprising accuracy. For others, it's more of a struggle and a skill they have to make an effort to learn.
I would certainly allow your nearly 3-year-old to use some blunt-ended scissors at home with supervision. You can show her how thay work and then let her have a go. Show her the correct way to hold them and give her some old magazines to chop up.
She's plenty of time to learn this skill before school.

dd has been learning to use them at nursery (from age 3ish - is now 4). We only had plastic ones at home but she never used them much.

DD1 is 4 and has been using scissors since she was 3; she loves cutting, but holds the scissors the 'wrong' way. She is in reception and I even noticed that her teacher had put a post-it note 'on the notice board saying she 'holds scissors awkwardly'.

DD2 is 2 1/2 and has tried using them, but couldn't get the hang of it.

I would have thought it would be pretty advanced/above average if a 2 year old could cut out shapes (as opposed to just cutting a line).

It's not a race.