How can we help our kids to write better or help them hold the pencil correctly while writing? Well, writing is a skill that needs to be developed from early childhood so that kids can know how to hold their pencil while writing. Writing can help us do many things at once. It helps us identify different letters and learn what they look like. It helps us to memorise the spellings of new words, which in turn helps in the development of the language.

Steps to learn the skills of writing

Engaging in motor activities

It is important for our kids to develop their motor skills before holding a pencil. This can be developed by making them hold a crayon or helping them cut paper using scissors. Eating food using a spoon also helps in the development of motor skills. Moulding clay or making something from it not only develops their motor skills but also helps develop their cognitive skills. This is why many playgroups try to indulge young kids in different types of activities rather than just concentrating on reading and writing. Once the child knows how to hold a spoon, he/she will definitely be able to hold a pencil properly.

How to hold a pencil

Parents and teachers should help kids learn how to hold a pencil. When a child holds a pencil for the first time, they will have a cylindrical grasp. Slowly, they will learn to hold it in a digital grasp. By the age of three or more, they will have developed a modified tripod grasp in which they use two fingers to grasp the pencil but hold it slanted rather than straight.Till they reach the age of 4 or 5, they learn to catch the pencil properly in a tripod grasp. These are various stages of a child learning to hold a pencil and, gradually, they learn to write properly.

Examine the grip.

Some children press the pencil hard and write so forcefully that we can see the imprint on the next page. Children must be taught to hold the pencil properly and write slowly and smoothly rather than pressing it hard. If they keep pressing the pencil, they might not be able to write fast when they grow up.

Ask them to learn the letters.

It’s good to know and identify letters. Once kids can identify letters, it is easy for them to write. They can also catch the sounds of the letters and frame the correct word. This makes writing easier since they understand what they are writing.

Practice and practice.

As we all know, practise makes us perfect, so make them write one page daily so they learn to hold the pencil correctly and get the correct format of the letter. Sometimes kids might not be interested in writing. Let them know how it is going to benefit them when they grow up and so they practise writing one page daily.

Keep your patience 

Don’t force your child to get the perfect letter at the beginning. It will take time for them to develop their writing skills. Also, every child has their own reading and writing pace, so don’t force them to write correctly if they are not able to.

Keep encouraging them to learn more and, at the same time, keep your patience too, to understand that they are going to get everything right when they grow up.