Tips on correcting ' incorrect' pencil grip?

[educator123]

I have noticed my dd now holds her pencil incorrectly...I'm not sure when it started as i didn't notice it previously. I have read that it's a habit that ideally needs to be broken sooner rather than later, but last night when i encouraged her to try and hold it correctly she got quite upset, said she couldnt write like that, refused to continue with her HM etc.

Any advice appreciated

TIA

how is she holding it and how old is she? Usually children develop their own way of holding a pencil but yes, can be a problem if causing pain or grip is not functional. Is she young enough for "snappy crocodile" type games?

Is it affecting her writing? If not then no problem.

One of my DC doesn't hold their pencil properly - both the teachers and I have tried everything on the market, grips on the end of pencils, triangle shaped pencils, all to no avail.....it seems our DC will hold the pencil how they feel comfortable, so I have now stopped trying to get them to hold it how society deems it should be held 'correctly'!

Yes that's it Lovemy3kids - sometimes there isn't a lot you can do. My dd writes mostly with her thumb and little finger and no amount of grips will change that! Even our OT has admitted defeat..

It hadn't really bothered me until i was reading something the other day that said they should be reminded if they do it when learning to write as otherwise it can be a really hard habit to break and can cause problems later.

After reading that i was a bit hmmph with the school as I'm assuming/hoping the teacher has noticed as she is in a small class of 14children!

Its hard to describe how she holds it, instead of the pencil resting between her thumb and first two fingers the pencil goes through her middle two fingers. Her writing is fine and neat. It doesn't concern me if it doesn't effect her at a later date.

Forgot to say dd is 6.

I hold my pen like that!! I suspect nobody noticed it was wrong when I was little. Anyway I never had any problems with my handwriting- in fact I'm the only doctor with legible handwriting!!
I noticed that DS1 holds his pen properly but DS2 appears to want to hd a pencil like I do.... I wonder if its a variation of "normal." I'm inclined to agree with those that say if there are no problems with handwriting it might be more difficult to correct it now anyway.

I think triangular pencils are quite good but not sure if it would help with your DD.

Just to add, my DH holds his pencil/pen and knives/forks in the most extraordinary way - I have never seen anything like it. It looks painful. And his handwriting is dreadful.

However, he can write incredibly quickly (and just about legibly), has a job where writing remains important, and got the top first in his year at uni, in an entirely essay based subject. So while his teachers and parents spent many years despairing, they really really needn't have...

You need short, very short pencils, and as fat as you can get.

You need to point out the correct grip and remind regularly.

You can see how many times she can pick up a pencil and draw a circle then put it down correctly in a 20 second period, then try and beat her time. You can tap the table, or clap every time she does it right, or better still click a tally counter.

hth

I hold pens very strangely and always have - I pretty much make a fist around the pen and scribble away. Various teachers have tried to fix it over the years but to no avail.

My writing is legible and I can write pretty damn fast, so as far as I'm concerned it doesn't matter :)

My ds had grip problems, and one particular sort of pencil grip made all the difference - triangular made no difference at all

As long as it doesn't lead to any long term issues, I am tempted to leave her as she i know she will find it upsetting if i make something of it.

It is striking the right balance i suppose. I think she will see through the 'games' and just take it to heart. When practicing her spelling this morning she did say, ' Mummy, look.' She was writting 'correctly' but then a notice, but didn't metion she slipped straight back aftre a couple of words!

I'm hoping i am worrying over nothing after reading what a read earlier in the week, but will mention it to her teacher anyway.

She has been writting for 3yrs now so if i somehow havent noticed, i think it could be a big confidence knock to keep bringing it up, esp as she is now doing long writting exercises at school, like big write. I am wondering if this is why her grip has changed - because she can write more quickly when holding incorrectly!

I hold a pen incorrectly. It is hatd to describe but almost in a fist I guess. It has never caused me an problems other than with stroppy teachers!

i hold my pen in between my pointy finger and middle finger and i have the neatest handwriting of our family so do not fret everyone does things in their own way and if hers is different so what the most important thing is is that she can read ,write and do all the other things at school so my advice is leave well alone

I can still remember a supply teacher bawling at me in front of the whole class for holding my pencil wrongly when I was 5! And I was a neat writer (for my age!) . I think I was always encouraged to hold it properly by other teachers and I did for a while but now I go between absolutely correct and not.

As a teacher, I encourage correct grip from age 3 (instead of holding pencil/paintbrush etc in a fist as children do to begin with) but don't force the issue if they're older & writing is ok. Sometimes incorrect grips can cause hands to cramp which is more of an issue when they're older and doing more writing, and can also affect the fluency of their joined up writing. It takes a while to break the habit though, child needs to be reminded/remind themselves constantly to focus on their grip.

My DD (7.5) also has a terrible pencil grip - she can do it 'properly' when reminded (and I do so constantly) but to be honest I'm at the stage of giving up. I spoke to the teacher about it at the last parent's evening and she said that DD has some of the neatest writing in the class and is quick enough, so that actually it's not worth trying to change.

If your DDs writing is neat enough and not too slow I'd be tempted to say just to leave it ...........

If you lay the pancil down with the point facing towards them, they cannot help but pick it up with the correct grip.
(of course getting them not to change it again is another matter)

Ds, who is also 6, improved his pencil grip after I bought him some Stabilo Easygraph pencils.

They are chunkier than usual and have bits carved out to make holding it more comfy. You can get them for L hand or R handed people.

Not described v well but I was pleased at the difference. He won't let anyone else touch them!