Fountain pen for a heavy handed writer.

[lexcat]

dd 9 has just had a new parker for christmas and she's already bent the nib. She as no memory of any rough handling just writing.

This is her 3rd in 3 years as the nibs start to bend. Writing is not dd thing and one thing that has really encouaged her is using a fountain pen. She puts it like this 'it flows and it's the easiest thing to write with without getting tried hands".

I am happy to buy her a good fountain pen as she's alwayes looked after her pass fountain oens (ie about the only pens she's not lost). Plus anything that encourages her to write great.

bump

I have just given my 10yo ds1 a cheap fountain pen, and if he gets on with it I will give him a better one later. It has certainly helped him to write less heavy-handed, and to understand the importance of holding his pen or pencil correctly.

I don't think a decent fountain pen nib will bend from heavy-handed writing. She must surely have dropped it. Or, perhaPs, another child did. I was hesitant giving ds a fountain pen as I was not sure how that would received at school. I have come across some weird attitudes to fountain pens - accusations of being pretentious or a show-off!

Aw, fountain pens, I have fond memories of those from my school days - the pots of ink versions and later the cartridge ones ... :-)

DD1 is starting school this year - might be silly question - but do they still use them in schools these days? - I hope so - I think they helped keep my writing neat - so much better than scruffy biros with chewed lids! :)

some of our children use a Stabilo one - they are specially designed for ease of grip and they do them for left or right handers -also pencils. They are two tone blue (and I think pink) -I know they sell them in tesco and WhSmiths -they have a fancy name I cant remember!

I tried the Stabilos but they are too big for my dcs' hands. They fit my large, adult hand perfectly.

During the holidays I dug out all my old cartridge pens, fountain pens, bottle of Parker Quink, and even an old dip pen and a load of italic nibs. We spent an hour or so playing with them The dc were entranced to learn how the pens worked and loved using them. In just that one hour ds1's grip improved significantly, and he begged for a fountain pen to use at school.

One of the few gripes I have about the infant school my dc went to is that they rushed handwriting. Getting the children writing in script was over-prioritised, and they were rushed through the earlier stages. Some - mostly girls - developed a good grip on the pen and clear even writing. Most hold the pen so tightly and cramped that they have very bad handwriting and still form the letters incorrectly, which makes their cursive illegible, and script awkward. So much so that in Y5 the whole class has been taken right back to basics and are re-learning handwriting.

Yes, Bobala, the children call them banana pens and my students get on well with them because they are not too heavy and the ink flows smoothly.