Imagine this, You ask your little one to write what he or she wants as a Birthday present. After some time, your pumpkin comes running to you excitedly saying that the letter is written. You open it to find out some sloppy, messy letters written here and there which are absolutely unreadable.
Bad handwriting could not only affect your child’s academic performance but also restrict him or her from getting their ideas on paper.
But don’t you worry because we’ve got some super simple tips to help your little one improve her or his handwriting:
- Start with a fun and positive attitude
The first step towards improving your child’s handwriting is to address it like a fun activity rather than a challenge. Encourage your child to keep on practising and to do so you can get some coloured, scented, or textured pencils, fancy books or cartoon erasers. In the beginning, avoid giving words just to copy instead try simple word puzzles, guess and write the word game, anagrams or just ask to write a list of things around a mentioned theme.
- Help to achieve the right grip
Before anything else, see if your little one knows how to hold the pencil. Now, the type of grip varies with the age.
- 1-2 years: Cylindrical grip
- 2-3 years: Digital grip
- 3 -4 years: Modified tripod grip
- 4-7 years: Tripod grip
So, your aim is to help your kid achieve the tripod grip. In this grip, the thumb should be bent, with the index finger on the opposite side of the pencil. The middle finger should be on the side of the pencil and the last two fingers tucked into the hand.
- Encourage your child to say what they write
Having your child say what she or he writes helps them to stay focused and monitor their efforts. This will also help them to better understand the sound of letters and you can correct them with the pronunciation if it goes wrong somewhere.
- Look out for the common mistakes
A few things to look out for in your kid’s handwriting are the height of the various letters both on the paper and with other letters, if the circles and loops are closed (for easy differentiation between the letter c and o) and if Is have dot and Ts are crossed. Highlighting this will also teach your child the importance of details in life.
- Patience and practice will do the rest
In the end, understand that handwriting is an art which won’t come overnight. And to achieve good handwriting takes a lot of practice and patience. This will also help your kiddo to learn patience and practice as a life skill.
These tips will surely guide your kids toward more readable handwriting without changing their original font and writing style. Just stay focused and keep practicing!