How Do You Help Your DC Hold Their Pencil/Crayon Correctly?

[kellycbr]

DD 4 has great fine motor skills, and loves to draw, but she holds her pencil or crayon with her thumb and next two fingures wrapped around it on the outside, and the pinky and ring finger on the inside. I understand its harder to correct the longer I wait, but she insists "They're my fingures, and I can hold them the way I want." Don't you just love 4 year olds!:) I've noticed if she has a 1-2" crayon, she holds it correctly. However, having and older DS, and lots of full length writing instruments, I'm not going to be able to keep them out of her hands. Any thoughts? :bigear: Thank you in advance for taking the time to answer!

[dirty ethel rackham]

Correct, correct, correct. Gentle reminders - often. For pencils and pens, there are grips you can get to encourage a proper grip.

 

Here is a link with several different grips. I personally like the Stetro Grip and "The Pencil Grip".

[LizzyBee]

My 7 yo uses rubber grips.

[Ailaena]

DD has always sort of struggled with fine motor, and I was forever nagging, nagging, nagging. When she was 3, I had an OT tell me that holding a pencil the correct way prevents fatigue when writing for long distances, but wouldn't really hurt anyone's chance of getting into college or anything like that! Still, I felt that it was important for her to be able to manipulate it correctly, so I... Gently reminded:smash:

 

I remember when dd was in Prek and first half of K they were required to use those big, fat pencils because they admin felt that kids that age were just not ready yet to hold the thinner pencil correctly. Then, for the 2nd half of K, they got to use "real" pencils with a pencil gripper. She is 13 years old and still likes to use a gripper sometimes because it helps her hand not be as tired. In fact, the other day I was looking at some of the really neat devices they have to help this problem here.

 

So I didnt help a whole lot, but a pencil grip is something like 79cents, so if you are worried, you can start there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

ETA: :lol::lol::lol: We posted the same link! I started the answer, then the phone rang and heehee:smilielol5:

[daisychics]

I cut the pencils really small (about 2 inches?) or you can order golf pencils. I even cut the crayons down (the ones we got free from restaurants). Although ds is older now I still purchased these from Target. Here's a picture of it http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay?&storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&partNumber=455462&cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-Shopping-_-Office_Supplies_%253E_Pencils_-_-455462-33312&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=455462

Nice big pencils.

[Mom-ninja.]

My boys like the Stetro grips. I found them at Target.

[Zelda]

We also use grips.

[kalanamak]

http://www.peterson-handwriting.com/pencilgr.htm#Crossover

[kellycbr]

Thanks.:001_smile:

[sjp]

i think i saw boxes of golf pencils for sale at office depot.

[FO4UR]

Stetro grips are great, but before I used those I only let ds color with nubs of crayons....crayons broken to about 1-2".....there is no other way to hold a crayon that small but with the tripod grasp.

 

When I started with pencils, I had ds karate chop the desk with his right hand holding his thumb up. Then put the pencil "on the bridge" eraser out, and grip. By this time he had been using the tiny crayons and the stetro grip was used for gripping help. He used the grip for a couple weeks, and now has a good grip without the help...even though his fm skills are still ummm.....coming along:tongue_smilie:

[GSMP]

We use the grips but one thing I found that really helped, especially with my leftie are the triangular pencils. We found those at Staples.

 

Teaching him italic writing helped. It is much easier to teach a left italic writing than straight...IMO...:001_smile:

[MommyInTraining]

:001_smile:I wanted to correct my 9yodd grip. She was using her middle finger to grip with. I wasn't given much encouragement but proceeded to try and change it in the following way:

 

She agreed to try for 1 month to use "the claw" www.writingclaw.com. At the end of the month she was to receive $5 and a new book. She was to use it for all writing/drawing activities.

 

After 1 month of having developed the proper grip using "the claw", she had to go another month with using the proper grip without "the claw". At the end of that month she was to receive the same reward. She agreed and I am happy to say that it succeeded in changing her grip!!!! :lol:

 

Now, with my 7yods I just have him use a pencil grip I bought from the school supply store and I don't have him use it all the time, but when he doesn't use it, he still does not have a proper grip. He is still not writing much, so I am not going to focus much on it with him until he is a little older and then probably go through the same type of procedure if he needs it.

 

The claw is great! www.writingclaw.com

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Terri in WA