Child's handwriting problem.?

Question

Hi
My 5 year old daughter is in Kindergarten, she has a really hard time holding a pencil correctly. I bought the shaped erasers for her to use, they are shaped so you have to hold your fingers in the correct way. I have shown her and she still can't do it, she doesn't hold it like a baby would but with two fingers over the top of the pencil instead of one and doesn't use any finger to rest the pencil on. So her handwriting is very faint and is all over the place with no definition to the letters, her teacher has told me that this will be a problem when she goes up to 1st grade.
I have 2 other children who did not have this problem so I have no idea what to do.

Answer 1

Just practice, practice, practice. Maybe her hand is lacking the coordination for writing have her squeeze some clothespins, an exercise for new writers, or a small ball. Keep reassuring her everything is going to be all right, but that you are just helping her practice her letters. She soon will get it!

Answer 2

Buy those really thick pencils. They're bigger and heavier and it'll strenghten her fingers. Also, because they're heavier it'll be harder for her to control with two fingers on top. This has become a habit and is more comfortable for her so you're going to have to re-train her fingers. It's going to take awhile, but it can be done. Everytime she's writing, correct her when she's holding it the "old" way. Over time she'll become more comfortable holding the pencil the "new" way. Praise her when she holds it correctly and show her how much better her handwriting is. Keep some papers from school and show her progress each week to give her incentive. Also, if she has a younger cousin or neighbor you could set up for her to "teach" them how to properly hold the pencil and write. One way to learn something is to teach it. Be positive and let her know you're there to help. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Tell the teacher to lighten up. I heard all about how my daughter held her pencil wrong in kindergarten as well...Something the teacher didn't take into account was the SIZE of my daughter's hands. My daughter is EXTREMELY petite. At five her hands were the size of a year old's so holding a regular sized pencil was difficult. When she got into the first grade it was the same thing...only then they began to claim it was a "developmental problem"...to which her doctor sent a statement to the school and superintendent's office saying that he DOUBTED a teacher was qualified to diagnose developmental problems in children and that in reality my daughter was actuall AHEAD developmentally for 6. Every parent teacher's conference until she reached the 5th grade I heard about the problem...When I brought it up to her 5th grade teacher she told me it wasn't how my daughter HELD the pencil that was important but rather the WORK she did with it. So I suspect that it's not your daughter who has the problem...but the teacher, and eventually your daughter's writting will progress...to this day my daguther (now 21 years) doesn't hold the pencil the "correct:" way but she holds it the way SHE is comfortable holding it...and she must be doing something right because even as a child her writings caught the attention of not only her teachers but newspaper editors where we lived as well.

Answer 4

The best idea is just to practice. Work with her on it.

If it doesn't get better, I would do a little bit of research on a learning disability called dysgraphia. My younger brother has always had a very hard time with his handwriting - he had a hard time learning to write in that his writing was often very cramped and smushed together, and the letters weren't formed correctly. After my mother spoke to his second grade teacher, he was diagnosed with dysgraphia. He went to an occupational therapist for a little while and his handwriting improved vastly. He's also better with it when he writes in cursive. He has no other learning disablilties, just so you know - just this one problem with his handwriting. So that's an avenue you might want to look into.

Answer 5

Have the kids "show" her.
Often times peers are the ones to teach them, since the often want to be like them.

We used the dots on the pencil and colored dots on the fingers with a sharpy pen. Put your finger/color on the pencil/color. It was a game. He picked out a special "pencil" and Pen with mickey mouse on it when he mastered the techniques.


Good luck.

Also- she maybe left handed, has that been a consideration?

Answer 6

Not sure if this'll help, but try having her write with the pencil resting between her pointer and middle finger. When I was in school a classmate wrote like that. I've tried it and it seems to create some stability that might help your daughter. Good luck!!

Answer 7

Have you mentioned anything to the school teacher? It could be a slight delay that the teachers have seen before in other students thtat they can explain to you ways to improve it, etc.

But the most important thing a parent can do is stay in contact with their childs teacher, the teacher is a terrific tool to find out what is going on with your childs learning abilities and ways that it can be corrected.

Answer 8

She needs to work on her fine motor skills. Work with her daily but make it fun. She will enjoy it and not think you are trying to force her to do something. Try coloring with her help her to hold the crayon the right way this will help her when it comes to holding pencils.

Answer 9

I think the others gave good answers, but I have one to add. Try letting her use the other hand. My friend's sister had the same problem, turns out she was a lefty, but her mom was "forcing" her to use her right hand. She did much better almost immediately. It's worth a shot.

Answer 10

A pediatric opthalmoogist (eye physician) can be a huge help too. they could instruct you routines to do to assist with the dyslexia. also, as the different answerer pronounced, the college must have a software to assist him. have you ever talked to the pediatricain about help for him?