When kids play with tongs, tweezers, and chopsticks, they exercise the small hand muscles needed for developing skills like cutting with scissors and writing with pencils.

Kids can start playing with tongs as early as toddler hood. I love to give toddlers short salad tongs so they can use with their whole hand to start out. As children get into preschool and early elementary school, they can use more “refined” pinching tools such as homemade kiddie chopsticks, tongs, and tweezers.

• Use tongs to put pom poms in a water bottle
• Use salad tongs to transfer marbles from one bowl to another
• Use salad tongs to put ping pong balls in a re-purposed container
• Feed a big mouthed frog
• Use tongs with candy and suction cups
• Use tongs to put beads on suction cups
• Use tongs or tweezers to put pom poms in an ice cube tray
• Cut open little pumpkins and let kids pull out the seeds with tweezers
• Use tweezers on seeds
•  Use tongs or tweezers to place marbles on an upside down bath mat
• Use salad tongs to put bath toys in a bucketing
• Use tongs while playing Connect Four
• Use tongs to move game pieces while playing board games
• Use tongs while playing Jenga
• Use tongs or chip clips to pick up puzzle pieces that have tiny pegs on top
• Play Mancala while using craft pom poms and tongs .