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How to Improve Childs Handwriting

Being from Department of education, students can easily develop bad handwriting. When it comes to handwriting, the best course of action is to prevent bad habits from ever happening. It’s much easier to prevent than it is to correct.

Here are 3 ways to prevent bad handwriting habits

1) Pencil Position, Paper Position, and Posture

Before your child begin writing, be sure to review correct pencil position, paper position, and posture.

The pencil should be held so that the top rests near the large knuckle. The first finger rests on top of the pencil while the thumb is slightly bent. The fingers should hold the pencil about an inch away from the tip.

The above pencil position is appropriate for both left-handed and right-handed writers. Having proper pencil position ensures that the childs hand will be relaxed and ready to make legible strokes and letters.

The paper position will vary for left-handed and right-handed writers. It will also vary depending on whether you are writing in manuscript or cursive. Have your child begin by resting both forearms on the desk. Next, bring their hands together, having them touch their thumbs and first fingers. The triangle this creates is the area in which all handwriting should take place. The book or paper should be shifted as the writing progresses across the line to be sure the writing area is maintained. 

2) Teach the Basic Strokes First

You have a choice as a Parent: you can have your child try to “Write and Practice” 52 shapes "Uppercase and lowercase letters or you can teach 4 basic strokes "The pieces that make up those 52 shapes".  The basic strokes are the building blocks for all letter forms. When you begin handwriting instruction with the basic strokes, your child will have much greater success when you introduce the letters because they will have already mastered the “pieces” of the letter. 

If you do not teach the basic strokes first, you’ll have to teach them later to correct illegible writing, because illegible writing always comes down to incorrectly formed basic strokes. You’ll have to address the basic strokes sooner or later; sooner is much easier. 

3) Self-Evaluation and Immediate Correction

When your child evaluates his/her own writing as they practice, they recognize and correct their mistakes before those mistakes can become bad habits.  Self-evaluation should take place after each line of letter practice (6-8 letters per line). Parents should look closely at each of the letters they have written. 

Are their strokes made correctly? 

How is the line quality? 

Do the letters touch the top, middle, and bottom lines in the correct place? 

Ask your child to circle their best letter and put an line under the letter that needs the most improvement.

It is important to discuss why your child has chosen their best and worst letters. Ask them what makes their best letter the best and what needs to be improved on their worst letter. This will enable your child to immediately self-correct their mistakes when they continue with the next line of practice.

All the Best. Remember to have fun while doing it.

Take a printout of this Blog for Future Reference.