How to hold a pencil

[hardtostayfocused]

(First post on mumsnet!)
My DD (6) holds her pencil in a fist when both writing and drawing and is very resistent to being told to hold it correctly. She also forms most of her letters incorrectly and usually inverts bs, ds, ps etc. Any suggestions?
My mother (voice of doom) has already predicted that DD will forever be hamfirsted writer...

Have you tried those triangular pencils? Or the foam covers you can get? I think they are supposed to help if a regular pencil just seems 'too fiddly' for her.

I also remember my children being told the pencil point was the nose of the mouse and their index and middle fingers needed to be the mouse 'ears'. But that was at reception age. I think the middle finger should start to get tucked underneath but my DD, also 6, still varies the way she holds her pencil. Although she does (sometimes!) adjust it when I remind her.

Tip I was given at a training. Hold a coin down against the palm with the little finger and next finger. Hold the pen/cil with the remaining fingers, pencil lying along the thumb and coming up between the first and second fingers. Can't be sustained for long, but gives an idea of correct grip.

Alternatively, at another training I was told that placing the pencil between the first two fingers from the 'top' and supporting it with the ball of the thumb was a good alternative grip.

Mind you, if the child is utterly determined not to hold the pencil correctly I suspect you may be fighting a losing battle

As for incorrect letter formation, does the school set aside time to teach handwriting?

Thanks for these ideas. The writing claw looks quite weird and wonderful mrz - have you seen it in action?
I don't know if the school sets aside time for handwriting - I know they have done some lessons on cursive script but I suspect there's nothing regular. Actually her handwriting is becoming smaller and neater but the letter inversion still prevalent and the phonetic spelling is as peculiar as it was a year ago. I don't know if I should be concerned or whether this is all quite normal at the beginning of Y2...

I'm using one at the minute for a child who had a really peculiar grip and it certainly prevents him from slipping back into the bad habits

The earlier you can change it the better, and ideally before about 7 years old otherwise the habit is so well formed it is very difficult to change.

I know! My 9y DD has a very awkward pencil grip. We have been working on it since Y2. She's in Y5 now and we are having to accept she is unlikely to change it now. It does make her handwriting less neat and it means she can't flow with the pen as easier.

To look at DD she holds her pen in a way many left handers hold a pen (not all) but DD actually writes right handed. She is left dominant with almost everything else though (with both hand and foot) - so I do wonder if it is related to this, maybe she would have been better if she was left handed for writing really? Oddly she holds her pen correctly if she holds it in her left hand!!!

DD tried all manner of gadgets - including the funny looking claw linked too. I would say the earlier the better if you can.

I've found that if you put the pencil down on the table with the writing tip pointing towards the child, they will usually pick it up correctly eg: not a fist grip, but with their thumb and first 2 fingers and resting between their thumb and first finger.

My dd has a strange grip also. Some great tips.

What a lovely simple idea Lara2, will try that, would be great if it works. I've also ordered not 1 but 3 different pencil grips!

Hulababy - Funnily enough I'm left handed but otherwise right dominant and automatically learnt to write with conventional grip. Wonder if anyone's done any research on this.