Children often have very little experience with scissors and how to cut paper properly. I have taught art for many years and have found that just a few simple tips taught to the students will improve their cutting experience greatly! My YouTube video shows the full lesson but if you are in a hurry, here are the main points:

1. The hand that is holding the scissors remains pretty much stationary, just opening and closing the scissors. The elbow stays close to one’s side.
2. The hand holding the paper does ALL the twisting of the paper.
3. The center areas of the scissor blades are the main cutting edges… NOT the tip and NOT the part near the “hinge/screw”.
4. NIBBLE cut! Think of the scissors as a little fish and it is nibbling at the paper, NOT a large shark going chomp, chomp, chomp. By using the center section and opening and closing the blades just a little bit while using the hand that holds the paper to slowly twist the paper to keep the cutting section moving along the cut-out comes out smooth and without ragged edges. The video shows how this works.