How can I encourage my 7 year old to write properly?

Question

My 7 year old son has a reading age of 9, is good at science and maths, but his handwriting is hopeless - almost illegible. The school he goes to are about to give up and get him to type everything, which seems madness as everyone needs to be able to write. Does anyone have any good suggestions for how we might be able to sort out his handwriting?

Answer 1

I understand what you mean when you say that everyone needs to be able to write, however the reason the teachers want him to start typing his work is that it will allow your son to put the focus on the writing process and expressing his ideas instead of penmanship. The teachers are probably not quitting on handwriting, but they need to use the computer as modification to help him learn. If they don’t make this modification, there will be frustration that will hinder your child’s progress.

There can be many reasons for poor handwriting. In addition to what you might have tried already, I would take a look at the following to start with:
1. Is there a visual perception problem? Check with a doctor.
2. To help with perceptual motor skills problems, try having him make letters in other ways such as with his fingers in sand or shaving cream or by forming them with play dough or with sidewalk chalk.
3. To help him have a wide variety of experiences with using a pencil, then let him do mazes, dot-to-dots, etc (this will help with creating horizontal and vertical lines, curves, etc)
4. To help increase fine motor skills, try letting him play with clay (squeezing with fingers), games that require the use of fingers (Operation), using scissors (cutting straight lines and curves. work up to heavier bond paper).

Finally, be open to suggestions and trust your child's teacher. She/he is a professional educator. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

A lot of boys seem to have this problem. Practice makes perfect though and he's got to put in the hours to get the results - don't let him revert to typing - can't believe the school suggested this!!

Maybe if he's got a real love of something then you could use that to stimulate his writing?? Write about it, or get him to read about it and then copy it.

Or you could write something and ask him to copy it neatly and only then can he , say, watch TV or get a sweet. Make him work for his rewards. You HAVE to be strict though when you start on such a reward for effort scheme and make sure the rules are laid down clearly and you stick to it!!!

Maybe you can set a biggish reward say in a few months time but he knows he only gets it if he has achieved certain targets - ie neat writing - maybe he desperately wants a certain toy or something??

Do you have a good secondary school nearby and a not so good one? If so, you can say that he won't be able to go to the good one if he can't write properly...my sister in law threatened that one and got the right result, after the tears he pulled up his socks.

Just a few suggestions - and there are plenty of books in WH Smith.

You need somehow to make him see the importance of being able to write clearly - eg he wont do well at exams if they cant read what he's written and he'll just get a x as they cant be bothered to read scruffy writing. Hard i know to get this across to a 9 yo but maybe you can find some way to get this message across.

Good luck and Well Done You for being such a good, conscientious parent!

Answer 3

Handwriting is one of the hardest things to master. I'm 25 now and still have the worst handwriting ever and I've never been able to change it. I would suggest trying those note pads that have the dotted line in between the lines to help keep his letters straight and spaced have him practice on these. Also, try not to make it a huge ordeal where he'll get frustrated with it then not want to do it at all the come to hate writing. I think handwriting like a fingerprint, you can't change it and no one else can write like you.

Answer 4

An idea from the How to talk books:
Have a 'beauty competition' for each piece of writing. Get your son to select the letters he feels are the most beautiful and then (only after he has selected) you pick your favourites. This encourages him to look critically at his writing. Very gently suggest some improvements but in a funny way (eg this 'a' is gasping for air. It needs more breathing room. Reckon you can help 'a' out?)

Take it slow and focus on the positive. Sometimes it takes a while to spot the beautiful letters but there is sure to be one that is better than the rest.

Best of luck!

Answer 5

I have a seven year old daughter who has poor handwriting, although in her case it seems to be because the school isn't prioritising handwriting at all. I agree with the previous answer suggesting checking his vision.
Are his motor skills OK generally - can he tie his shoe laces and manage buttons, knife and fork, scissors etc? If he has problems with other fine motor skills its worth getting that angle checked out. Mention any concerns to school or to your GP.
But don't get too concerned, so long as he keeps trying to write and practices regularly he will probably eventually get there. As a child my teachers despaired of my writing, now its fine.

Answer 6

Is it that important and if it is to you, then spend time with him and stop blaming the school,surely it is a parents responsibility to teach their child to read,write and tell the time, just the basics? You have already mentioned that his reading is good,my son is of above average intelligence but his handwriting is very poor, despite this he has been ear-marked for university, I hope that may be of some comfort.

Answer 7

your son is 7. stop making a big deal of it and adjust your own perspective. My son is 16 and used to write the same way, I almost let it drive me crazy but you know what? Now he's 16 and writes almost exactly like me. I write in a very plain mix of manuscript and cursive just like the most of us!
With Kids, remember - What you resist will persist!

Answer 8

Try different size pencils it may be that he holds the pencil really tight. By making the pencil a little bigger he can control it better. This only works if he wants to learn it. This is the problem. I would explain to the child that ideas written down are no good if no one can read them.

Answer 9

My 9 yr old writes "messy" (his words) as well. I went to Staples and purchased the big fat pencils but before I purchased them I asked him if he thought they would help him write neater because I didn't want to discourage him. Since purchasing the "fat pencils" he writes much neater, I make a really big deal about how well he's doing and he's much more proud of his work.

Answer 10

you can buy books from Woolworth's where the writing is dots and you have to join the dots to make the words, this may help him practise