We expect our children to sit and write at a desk for longer periods of time at school and this can become very challenging for some children.  Handwriting is a very physical task requiring good gross and fine motor skills. A weakness in either, or both, of these areas can be the reason for a child to struggle with longer handwriting tasks.

Our step by step flow chart will guide you through the possible causes. Start from the top and work through each stage, clicking on the boxes to take you to the relevant section of our website. Identify possible reasons for your child’s poor body posture or pencil grip and our suggestions on how to help them: http://bit.ly/2JJpvRq

Why it is important to correct a poor body posture and/or pencil grip?

Children with a poor body posture often slouched over a desk, laying their head on the table or with their head propped up by their hand and arm, or pull their chair in so far that they can rest their tummy on the edge of the table to help them keep a more upright position. This can look as if they are bored and disinterested in what they are doing. However this is not generally the case.

A poor posture position is not always due to boredom or incorrect chair and table height. For many children it is a lack of body strength or core muscle tone (the large muscle groups that control shoulder stability and the trunk of the body that work to enable us to sit and stand upright for sustained periods of time).

This is bad for them, as it puts unnecessary strain on the body, causing neck or backache and discomfort, which in turn makes them fidget as they try to get comfortable. All this can distract them from the task in hand and limit their handwriting ability as it reduces their hand and finger movements.

Children with a poor pencil grip can find forming letters difficult and their handwriting can be slow or uncomfortable. We often talk about the most appropriate grip for handwriting being the tripod grip (if developmentally appropriate bit.ly/1s7XjNP); but this usually only refers to finger position. It is easy to forget the importance of the actual hand position in relation to the pencil and paper for handwriting.

The ideal position is for the hand, wrist and elbow to be below the tip of the pencil and under the writing line (this is roughly at 45 degrees to the table edge if the paper is tilted correctly: bit.ly/1GsZVJ6).

Some children will hold the pencil in a tripod grip but develop a hooked hand position (more commonly seen with left handed writers) or move the elbow too far up the table, causing the forearm and wrist to be nearly horizontal with the table edge, because they feel they can see what they are writing better.

A hooked grip puts unnecessary strain on the hand ligaments and forces the body into a poor sitting position, again putting extra strain on the body. This in turn makes handwriting a tiring and uncomfortable task, impacting on your child’s overall learning experience.