It seems that holding the pencil is something simple. However, from our own experience as adults we have noticed that each one does it in a way, and often incorrectly. If as children we do not learn to hold the pencil in the most correct way, it can cause motor problems, In addition to causing fatigue in the long run, writing slower, pain in the fingers, formation of small calluses, tension.
With new technologies, we use the pen less and less, or pencils, but it is essential that your child learn to do it. To hold the pencil, it must be held between the thumb and the middle finger. The index finger is placed on it, exerting slight pressure.
Wrong ways to hold the pencil
One of the most common ways, especially at the beginning of holding the pencil is doing it with more fingers than necessary. The consequences it causes is hand fatigue and slowness. In addition, precision is lost and you have to be more tense when writing or drawing.
A common position among left-handed boys and girls is that the stylus is facing all the way out. This not only causes fatigue in the hand, but in the whole body, because what is written is often covered with the hand itself, and to see it you have to move the body, acquiring a bad posture.
The last, and most common is put your fingers inward. It also causes pain, and children who write like this tire quickly, and take writing as a horrible exercise. In addition, their writing is usually so strong that they tear the paper, which causes more disaffection with learning.
Tips and tricks for teaching pencil grip
Before you start to hold the pencil it is good that the child has exercised his fine motor skills, for example, fastening and unbuttoning buttons, zipping up and down, picking up small things with your fingers and putting them in a container, peeling tangerines, draining sponges, cutting in a straight line…. and now yes, lito to hold a pencil. From the age of two and a half, children memorize the position of their hands when holding the pencil
Begins practicing, on a large blank paper, that the child draws circles, straight, horizontal, vertical and oblique lines. Ask him to make all these strokes from left to right. While this is happening, observe how your hand adjusts naturally to the pencil. The brain always tries to do things in the simplest way. When you have mastered the stroke, repeat the same exercise, but now with widely spaced horizontal lines. And finally, start using the squares.
Remember that triangular pencils (so-called carpenter's pencils) are better adapted to the position of the fingers. Besides in the market you can find some adapters that are placed on the tip of the pencil are more easily held, and that are "soft".
It's better than children start practicing with small pencils. To free up the fingers that are not used when writing, ask him to hold a small ball of paper, or a small rubber ball with the other fingers.
Left-handed children and their way of holding the pencil
Our writing system is designed for right-handed users. We all have acquaintances who have been forced to change their writing hand. This is a big mistake that fortunately does not continue to be made in schools. But still parents and teachers have to be attentive to the difficulties of left-handed children to adapt to the writing method, but there does not have to be one to hold the pencil with the left, since they have the same fine motor skills as a right-hander.
The most important thing, beyond teaching him to hold and hold the pencil, is make it easier for you to position the paper, which should be to the left and almost vertical. For lefties it is almost more natural to write "up" than from left to right. Let's not correct this. In the market there are adapters, notebooks, scissors, pens and supplies designed to make life easier for these boys and girls.
If you want to delve into this topic of learning for left-handed children, we recommend this article.