To think many adults have terrible handwriting?

[MaryFuckingFerguson]

I am ironing curtains 😩 in front of ‘Four in a Bed’.

When the guests leave a B&B and write their reviews, I am struck by the fact virtually no-one has nice handwriting.

They either print like a small child might, write in capitals or have a messy and barely legible scrawl. Often they hold the pen in a cack-handed manner too.

My husband reckons hand-writing is not taught properly at state schools. But our kids (early 20s) went to state school and were taught cursive.

Is it just not a thing that matters anymore? I think it’s a shame as I love writing, even a birthday card, and take pride in it. Adults should have decent hand-writing unless other influencing factors are present. Or do we just not write enough nowadays to be any good at it?

I recently learnt about dygraphia ( suspect my son has it ) and I bet loads of adults have dysgraphia and havnt got a clue they have

Many things are typed now but I think there is still a place for handwriting and it would be a shame to lose that skill. It is a requirement for children to be able to legibly write in joined-up handwriting by the end of key stage 2 but I don't think it matters in secondary school. Dc1 has dysgraphia and uses a laptop at school for most lessons.

I went to school with a girl who had the most beautiful neat round handwriting, but it was impossible to read!
I think that now it is rarely necessary to actually write anything most of us are just out of practice - plus I don't think there is as much emphasis on good handwriting in school now.

When I do my best handwriting, it's very attractive, though I do say so myself 😊 People who see it often comment on it.

But often I don't 'do my best' so it's a messy scrawl.

I agree with you OP about handwriting in general. I used to do a job that involved checking handwritten forms and much of the writing was shockingly poor.

Literate people.

This.

Legible is more important to me than it being “nice”.

I recall having to type or use a computer for papers for class because teachers wanted it that way instead of handwritten so they could read our writing and it looked better compared to handwritten with pencil.

Tbh, I struggle sometimes with writing due to hypermobility in my fingers and if I over use my hands (regular everyday stuff) and then hold a pen for too long to write, my index finger goes out of alignment in my hand where it looks like it has moved out of its socket. It’s hereditary unfortunately. My mother has to have shots in her hand every month for the issues it causes and my oldest struggles with holding a pencil.

For me to have “nice” handwriting, I have to go quite slow and hold very close to the bottom of the pen. Typing is much easier for me and my hands.

I had nice handwriting for years but for the past ten, I just can't hold a pen for long as my hand hurts so much. Consequently, every time I write something like birthday card, thank you card etc, it looks like a toddler has tried to write it. I feel quite upset at how bad it looks.

Thanks arthritis ... 🙄😪

Mines awful. Actually, Dh told me it was awful this morning.i told him to finish writing his shopping list himself. He said he can't, his is awful too and mine is easier to read than his 🤣. I agreed. I can't read his either.

My handwriting has always been terrible. I can write better if I slow down a lot but that's too slow for my brain so I can't keep it up for long

Same -my brain races ahead of my hands - I was given a Dictaphone in Uni!

I could never do joined up writing as a child - I was once made to stand in the hall all lunch time by a teacher holding up my atrocious work for all to see - which didn't encourage me - I'm too old to give a fuck now - I have the hand writing of a psychopath - none of the letters are ever the same - I write them multiple ways but my printed writing IS legible..

DH is in his 50’s and for the 30+ years we’ve been together he’s had the handwriting of a 9 year old in a hurry. It’s so bad that sometimes even he has to guess at what he’s written.

I know what you mean!
I worked with someone whowrote everything in Old English script.
It looked impressive but it was very difficult to read.

To be fair though, he never sacked the monasteries. As far as I know. 🙃

I've always got 4 matching pens in different colours in my bag.

Currently got black for every day writing, green and purple for if it needs decoration and a silver one I haven't found a use for.

I was going to write something about how much I enjoy reading my dad's writing as well, such a unique style and seemed almost incongruous with the type of person he was, but now when I read it years later, the style is such a clear expression of him

I think it's a shame too. There are certain things that are nice for no reason other than to be nice. My handwriting is lovely, if I say so myself, and I do appreciate when someone else's is pleasant too. It doesn't happen much. It's just a lost art, that's all. Handwriting may be losing its day to day function, but the action of writing things out does have neurological benefits and can support learning. I did a module on metacognition when in university and remember learning that the act of writing content out engages more synapses than just reading the material. I think good old analogue writing has great value and it is so nice when it's well presented.

Can we be friends? 🤨

That sums it up.

And although people say it matters not, you often hear, ‘sorry about my awful handwriting’.

I am quite glad from a personal point of view that handwriting is less emphasized nowadays than in the past. I have always had a form of dyspraxia, which when I was a child was not recognized. and always had trouble in holding writing implements correctly and writing neatly. I was fine at reading, maths and indeed spelling; it was just the motor skill of writing that caused me trouble. It got worse when in year 4, we were required to switch from a pencil to a fountain pen: what had been my ugly but legible script with a pencil became an illegible blot with a fountain pen. Teachers used to get angry with me, and I developed the same sort of anxiety about handwriting that some people have about maths.

Some people, of course, just have poor handwriting because they're out of practice these days.

My handwriting isn't great now, my hand can't keep up with my thoughts and it just deteriorates into a scrawl. I was taught cursive at school and had nice writing until I left uni and went from taking notes in lectures every day to typing everything at work and only handwriting birthday cards etc. When I write now I have to make a conscious effort to slow down. I jotted down some notes for a client at the end of a consult last week and the receptionist told me afterwards they asked her to decipher a few words in it when they went out to pay 😂

My handwriting is terrible, nice in a card where I don’t have to write much but my nursing notes weren’t great, legible but messy, am dyslexic, left handed and never learned cursive was too busy being bullied and having teachers telling me I’m lazy.

my son has dysgraphia, perhaps I do too. He is a lefty too and also has massively hypermobile joints his fingers bend right back to his hand so he finds writing really sore. There are barriers to learning, as above which is a reason why many people have bad hand writing or struggle with certain things. It’s not laziness.

Mine Could probably be better!

I actually really dislike it when teachers reward work for it's neatness and prettiness. I deliberately resist doing so, as I don’t teach art. It's the content that matters.

My writing is messy childlike, I was taught cursive at school but for down reason I’ve stopped writing like this now. I think it is partially lack of practice!

Yes I do. I’m left handed and write upside down, I’ve always struggled with my writing. I feel embarrassed by it and try and avoid writing cards/ school reading records/ anything that someone else might see (other than close friends/ family who are used to my writing!!)

Tabby.
Mine is terrible and I'm one of many.

Stupid spellchecker
Tabby=yanbu

My writing isn't great, and I'm pleasanty surprised when DH is able to make out what I've written on a shopping list. There's something lovely about him being able to understand my quick scribbles.