We get so many children these days that have illegible writing. It is so important to maintain good, clear handwriting – especially when doing public exams. If your child is struggling with their handwriting they are not alone. There are ways in which you can help support your child when developing their handwriting. It may be that you have a younger child who is just learning to write or your child may be a little older and needs some help in writing a little neater. Either way there are ways you can help. Also teaching your child cursive can have a significant impact on their mind-body connection.
Selecting the right tools
The first step is to make sure you are working with the right tools. choosing the right pencil or pen for your child can go a long way. This is something that we normally don’t think about but selecting the size and shape that your child feels most comfortable with will make things easier for them. If the pen or pencil is too thin or thick it can easily cause messy handwriting. Toddlers have small hands with a less firm grip, so a thick and short pencil is most likely the best option for them. Secondly select the appropriate paper. Choose the right thickness and texture for your child. This may also help them write neater.
Holding the pencil for good handwriting
When it comes to holding a pencil, you may notice that your child doesn’t have the right grip. This can affect how their handwriting looks. Teaching them the right grip from the start creates a strong handwriting foundation. If you have a preschooler or a child in kindergarten, try the tripod grasp. This is when you hold a pencil between the thumb and index finger. Then, let the pencil rest on the middle finger. The remaining two fingers curl to the palm, acting as support. To help your child to learn this try using small crayons first. Also let your child do other activities that make use of the tripod grasp, such as threading beads or using tweezers. You can also guide your child’s hand and help them apply the right amount of pressure. An example of too much grip is if you find the words they wrote stamped into the next page of the book. If too much pressure is applied, it may affect their mental state (stress), and thus their handwriting.
Next there is the speed of their writing. They will need this especially in the higher years of high school but let’s start when they are young as none of us write fast enough now. We often tap keyboards faster than we can write. At a young age however, speed is an important factor, because if your child goes too fast, they might not form legible letters. On the other hand, if they go too slow, they might not be able to finish their schoolwork on time. You can help them with their speed, the first thing you need to do is let them relax first. Allow them to process the writing task at hand before they begin writing. The more they get used to writing legibly at the slower speed, the more you will be able to start encouraging them to speed up.
The environment
It is important to create an engaging environment for your child. Writing should be a fun activity. By creating a positive environment for your child, they’ll always feel encouraged and confident. If they are struggling with the pen-and-paper combo try changing the environment by using crayons and sharpened coloured pencils or art materials. Also make sure they are sitting at appropriate levels of tables and chairs. Make sure they are in a quiet area and there are no distractions like a TV in the background, music or hand held devices. Sit with your child and help them work through the difficulties. Bad handwriting can have several reasons such as low confidence, illegible writing to hide spelling errors or they could have a sensory disorder which makes it hard to write.
Fine motor skills
You can do many things that work on your child’s fine motor skills to enhance handwriting. It is important to help them keep a steady hand so teach them young to use child-safe cutlery, play catch with a ball, make clay figures and play family friendly games which involve using your fingers and hands.
Other ways you can help is getting them familiar with the shape of the alphabet. Sit with your child and write each letter of the alphabet focusing on the size, spacing, curves and slants of the letters. Be sure to do both capital and lowercase letters. Read more with them so they become familiar with sentence structure and expand their vocabulary. This may then flow over into their handwriting, correct spelling and correct forming of letters. One of the most important things though is to make sure they practice. The only way to get better is to practice. If your child has a hard time focusing try using innovative approaches to encourage them in some way to write daily. This could be a card for grandma, write me a story and I will draw the picture or for the older ones to have a journal or diary where they can write about their day, their friends or what they want to do on the holidays. Use your imagination to come up with fun ways to get the kids to show off their writing skills and you are teaching them a skill they will have for life.
Hire a tutor
Here at Tutoring Services Sydney, we have professionally trained tutors at all levels from Kindy to HSC level and even university level. Everything from teaching your young ones A, B, Cs to editing their University Thesis. And we specialise in all subjects. So, whether it’s help with a subject or learning how to write well or comprehend, or even how to put together a good essay our trained professionals will soon have your children acing those marks and succeeding in those exams. Send us a message or call us today to get your kids started.
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