Babies who were born preterm, have developmental delay or are at risk for CP often do not move and explore with their hands as much as typically developing babies do. 

If your baby is not actively reaching for or grasping toys is is a good idea to encourage them to pay attention to their hands and to actively reach for and grasp toys. 

Paying attention to one hand and a toy
Let your baby sit with good support either on your lap, in a reclining seat or or on the floor. 

Have a few interesting and easy to grasp toys at hand.  

Reaching for a dangling toy

Tie a length of ribbon or a piece of knicker (flat) elastic to the toy so that you can dangle it close to your baby's hand 

Hold the ribbon so that the toy is close to your baby's hand - let the toy touch the hand and move it away again. 

Wait for your baby to turn their head and look at the toy. 

Jiggle the toy a little bit and then wait for your baby to move the hand closer, push the toy with her hand or open the fingers to grasp the toy. 

If your baby takes hold of the toy, let go of the ribbon and give them time explore ways to explore it. Once your baby is holding the toy, she may move it to see if it makes a noise, bring the other hand closer to touch it 

Move the toy a little distance away from the toy, jiggle it a little to catch the baby's attention and wait for them to move her hand towards the toy and grasp it. 

Reaching for a toy on your hand

Another way to encourage a child to reach for a toy is to hold the toy on the flat of your hand.

Jiggle your fingers to attract your baby's attention and then move the toy closer to your baby's hand.

Now the baby's hand, the toy and your hand are in the baby's field of vision. 
Wait for the baby to move their hand to make contact with the toy in any way. 

If your baby does not  try to take hold of the toy

If your baby does not move their hand to touch or grasp the toy, put the toy in their hand. 

Keep looking at the toy in your baby's hand, point to it and touch it briefly to keep their visual attention on the toy in their hand. 

When your baby drops the toy, put another toy in their hand and watch what they do. Try out different toys to find the ones that your baby likes and holds for longer.