dsbrack Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 My 6 year old has a very weird pencil grip. He pinches all his fingers together sort of on top and on the side of the pencil with no fingers underneath for support. I correct him every time I see it and he will awkwardly hold it the right way for a while and slip back to the other hold. I asked my husband to give instruction a try to see if it might help and he looked at my son's grip and said it is the same way he holds the pencil. We all compared grips and I'm the only one who rests the pencil on my lower fingers for support. Is this something I should continue to try to correct? The grip works fine for my husband but maybe it should have been corrected for him when he was little. I don't want to allow my son to keep using the grip if it's going to result in fatigue later down the line. What do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelmama1209 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 following curiously. i have always held my pencil on the 3rd finger as opposed to the second. despite the fact that i have taught my 8yo the "proper" way from the start, she also rests it on her 3rd finger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carriede Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 following curiously. i have always held my pencil on the 3rd finger as opposed to the second. despite the fact that i have taught my 8yo the "proper" way from the start, she also rests it on her 3rd finger. This is the way I hold my pencil. I didn't know it was "wrong" until after college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 The proportions of the hand are genetic, so that may be. I am trying to get DS (left-handed, while DH and I are right-handed) in the habit of a correct grip because the particular incorrect grip I use *is* a problem for writing more than a few sentences. I think DH has a correct grip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindyK Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 following curiously. i have always held my pencil on the 3rd finger as opposed to the second. despite the fact that i have taught my 8yo the "proper" way from the start, she also rests it on her 3rd finger. Same here! I always thought I was probably never corrected when I was young and now my younger daughter holds her pencil the same way! I correct her when I see it though. She still lapses but is much better at her hold than she was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Interesting…I hold my pencil in a strange way as does DS1….in spite of many teachers trying to change us both. So far, the other kids seem to hold theirs the "correct" way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayt ul-Hikmah Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 My ds10 wraps his thumb around the pencil despite being corrected since the very beginning. It drives me completely crazy, but there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it. His dad holds a pencil exactly same way, and he lives thousands of miles away from us (so clearly my ds didn't pick this up by watching him). Maybe what is comfortable does have to do with inherited hand proportions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Anything can be genetic. My entire personality down to my handwriting can be explained through my father, who I didn't meet until I was 27. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Watching this too. I am beginning to think it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSinNS Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 After 2 years of trying to fix her pencil grip, my daughter still holds her pencil exactly like me! I just hope she has better handwriting then me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanikit Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I do not hold my pencil correctly and they tried and tried to fix it when I was in first grade to no avail, however the grip I use works fine - I have never had any pain and write neatly and quickly and my wrist is free to move with no tension. My DD6 is doing what the OP stated - the problem with this grip for her is that it makes her wrist very tense which means she tires quickly and complains of a sore hand if she writes too much which is why I am expecting her to fix it - I have told and shown her why she needs to do that and she is now trying though it has been more than a years battle and she still reverts back to her old grip when tired. My youngest is only 2 and holds her pencil the same as the eldest, but at 2 this is apparently developmentally appropriate or even advanced so I will do nothing about it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 One of mine holds a pencil the same way I do. I remember my teachers throwing a fit, so I really tried to correct my son without success. Later, I shared with a friend that I was giving up on correcting it. She told me what he and I do isn't a typical tripod, but it's a functional grasp actually. http://www.otplan.com/articles/pencil-grasp-patterns.aspxThis article above goes over ok (functional) and problem grasps and has some activities to work on. If you've got an inefficient grasp, I'd continue to try to address at his age. I might even enlist OT help. Oh, this one has pictures and talks about when to intervene (or not) and why. http://theanonymousot.com/2013/03/22/when-to-fix-a-pencil-grasp/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Everyone in my family has horrible handwriting. I had to teach dd2 a correct pencil grip at the age of 9 with HWT's preschool resources which is something I NEVER want to do again. My own memories are a bit hazy, but I cringe at the malformed letters I see in my name in the front of the picture books that have survived long enough for ds2 (born when I was 43) and I remember going through the entire series of Anna Frostig books only to be told to start back at the beginning and try harder. My parents laugh it off and remind me that my grandfather was a doctor. Doctor jokes went a long way towards helping my older kids deal with social situations, but they won't do my digital native but so much good. I am convinced that it is genetic. ds2's handwriting is beautiful and always has been, but I am working with his pencil grip and letter formation and couldn't care less that we're still on numerals and capitals and haven't progressed past the grey blocks yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I have a seriously weird grip and still manage to write neatly. I'm not very convinced that grip has much to do with how neatly a person is able to write. My 12 year old has a weird grip similar to my own (and can write neatly when she chooses) and my 11 has a correct grip. This is very much in keeping with their personalities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I feel bad about discouraging my 6 year old's artwork by continually nagging him about pencil grip, but I also feel irresponsible ignoring it after living through a "worst case scenario" with dd2. Her bad pencil grip was more extreme than his so I have no regrets, but I am watching this thread intently and keeping an open mind about alternatives that might be worth exploring with the current 6 year old and talking about with the mothers of my future grandbabies. Thanks for posting, OP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Is this something I should continue to try to correct? The grip works fine for my husband but maybe it should have been corrected for him when he was little. I don't want to allow my son to keep using the grip if it's going to result in fatigue later down the line. What do you all think? I can tell you that they tried their hardest to make me hold my pencil the right way when I was little, and I still don't. I don't think I really have any more fatigue with writing than anyone else - I certainly used to hand-write copious amounts regularly. My handwriting is definitely not the prettiest, but legible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsbrack Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 One of mine holds a pencil the same way I do. I remember my teachers throwing a fit, so I really tried to correct my son without success. Later, I shared with a friend that I was giving up on correcting it. She told me what he and I do isn't a typical tripod, but it's a functional grasp actually. http://www.otplan.com/articles/pencil-grasp-patterns.aspx This article above goes over ok (functional) and problem grasps and has some activities to work on. If you've got an inefficient grasp, I'd continue to try to address at his age. I might even enlist OT help. Oh, this one has pictures and talks about when to intervene (or not) and why. http://theanonymousot.com/2013/03/22/when-to-fix-a-pencil-grasp/ Thank you for these resources! I'm leaning towards taking him in to an OT just to have a look and get some advice. His grip is closest to the fingertip grip shown in the 2nd article but the pencil is on the diagonal towards the webbing instead of straight up and down and the pinky/ring finger seem to just rest against the pencil, not curl under for support. The pencil doesn't rest on any finger but is gripped by the tips of all his fingers. I need to take a closer look to see if he is forming a C shape or collapsing his hand. My issue is I don't want to harp on him every time he writes or draws because I want it to be enjoyable for him. But I don't want to get into 3rd or 4th and have him hate writing because his hand hurts all the time. He doesn't write enough now for there to really be any fatigue. If the grip will be functional, then I want to let it go but I don't have enough knowledge to know if it will function well down the line. An OT's advice might be needed to help me decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsbrack Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 I can tell you that they tried their hardest to make me hold my pencil the right way when I was little, and I still don't. I don't think I really have any more fatigue with writing than anyone else - I certainly used to hand-write copious amounts regularly. My handwriting is definitely not the prettiest, but legible. This is my goal - it doesn't need to be pretty, just legible and without pain or fatigue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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