Incorrect pencil grip

[Staceyshoe]

My son learned to hold a pencil correctly but has fallen into a habit of resting it on his ring finger instead of his middle finger. Is this something I should correct?

[The Girls' Mom]

My humble and not professional opinion...yes I would try to correct it.

 

My oldest dd has a horrible grip. It was never corrected properly in PS, and now it's just plain too late. Her hand writing is horrible, and it just looks painful to write (although she says it isn't)

[meet me in paris]

We started using the handwriting claw and it worked well - I blogged about it here.

[gandpsmommy]

This is actually the way I write. I guess no one ever noticed in kindergarten or first grade. It has made a huge "writing bump" on the top left side of my ring finger. And I do not have the best handwriting. If it's still fixable, I would very gently try to fix it.

[Prudent]

That's the way I write too. My handwriting is great, but I do have the bump on my ring finger, and it's painful if I have a lot of writing to do.

[Ellyndria]

For what it's worth, Handwriting Without Tears says both tripod and quadropod (resting on the ring finger) grips are correct. I write using the quadropod grip myself. I would worry more if he's gripping the pencil too tightly or having the thumb crossover.

[grace'smom]

I write this way and people often complement my handwriting. However, I do have a writing bump and vivid memories of the pain of the first few weeks each school year when it had "softened" and had to harden back up due to writing demands. It was very painful. The bump is almost gone now, because I only write grocery lists and thank you notes now! Everything else is typing.

[Ellie]

I say correct it, if for no other reason than that it looks rilly, rilly strange.:D

 

Also, a proper grip will be less stressful and tiring.

[Staceyshoe]

Thanks for the replies! I think I'll try to gently guide him toward the "correct" grip and see how that goes. We actually started out using The Claw, and I thought we didn't need it any more. He liked it, so maybe I'll dig it out again. It did make a huge difference. He's just gradually slipped into this habit.

[JudoMom]

For what it's worth, Handwriting Without Tears says both tripod and quadropod (resting on the ring finger) grips are correct. I write using the quadropod grip myself. I would worry more if he's gripping the pencil too tightly or having the thumb crossover.

 

:iagree:

 

It's an acceptable grip.

 

I can write equally well with a tripod and quadripod grip. I spent elementary using a quadripod grip, then at some point in middle decided I wanted to use a tripod grip.

[BridgeTea]

I lost part of my index finger several years ago. It hurt for the next year and stuck straight out, so out of necessity I started holding pens, pencils and forks between the middle and ring finger. Yes, it looked weird, but I was happy to write (and eat!) It was weird how switching one finger over caused pain in my whole hand while the muscles learned how to grip things in a new way! My writing was not pretty for a long time.

 

Gradually I gained flexibility and coordination, my writing returned to normal, and then I noticed I would go back to my old grip at times, but not always. I still grip my fork in the weird, unbalanced-looking way on occasion. My hand seems to be trained both ways now or something.

 

I guess my point is there seems to be more than one grip that works.

And if you choose to help a child change how they are holding a pencil, keep in mind the retraining of muscles can hurt for awhile!

 

BTW, my typing still stinks. I miss a lot of "b"s. "7"s, forget it. Stubby has no idea she can't reach those keys. :)

[Suzanne in ABQ]

This is actually the way I write. I guess no one ever noticed in kindergarten or first grade. It has made a huge "writing bump" on the top left side of my ring finger. And I do not have the best handwriting. If it's still fixable, I would very gently try to fix it.

 

 

Well, FWIW, I hold my pencil "correctly", and I get a huge writing bump on my *middle* finger when I write a lot. It college, it got huge and was very painful. Different finger, but the same problem with either grip.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Thanks for the replies! I think I'll try to gently guide him toward the "correct" grip and see how that goes. We actually started out using The Claw, and I thought we didn't need it any more. He liked it, so maybe I'll dig it out again. It did make a huge difference. He's just gradually slipped into this habit.

 

 

I like the idea of trying gently to correct it, but I wouldn't stress over it. All three of my kids write with two fingers on top, and they have very nice handwriting, and don't tire any more than they would with any other grip. Besides, as the PP mentioned, the occupational therapist who wrote Handwriting Without Tears says that either grip is acceptable.

 

FWIW, I hold my pencil/pen "correctly", but I have had lots of problems with tendonitis in my wrist and a painful "writing bump" on my third finger (as mentioned in a previous post), when I write a lot. Even the "correct" grip causes problems. When my wrist hurts, I ease the pain by altering my grip, either by placing two fingers on top like your son (which allows me to straighten my wrist), or placing the pencil between my index and tall-man finger, gripping with the tips of my thumb and three fingers.

 

Let him do whatever works the best for him.

[Lucy in Australia]

Both my sons started off writing like this, and I stressed like crazy over it. I managed to get DS1 to correct his grip; his handwriting is ok. I tried with DS2, but it didn't work. He is now 10, still rests his pen on his ring finger; his handwriting is better than his brothers and just as effortless. I wouldn't worry about it.