Pencil grip for 2.5yo

[abba12]

Im posting in the accelerated board because i think there is probably some difference in needs between a 2.5yo who is scribbling and one who is beginning to write letters and numbers.

 

When my daughter began doing some fine motor skills type worksheets i began teaching her to correctly hold her crayon. My husband and i both struggle with handwriting due to poor grips, in my case due to disability, so it seemed natural to me to start her off doing it right to help develop the muscles and stop her from having to unlearn a bad habit. I have since found a number of people saying this is wrong, that children go through natural stages of grips and teaching them the correct grip early means they will learn it incorrectly because the muscles arent mature. But i have also found people who agree with teaching it from the beginning, however, their beginning is also 4yo, or 3yo at the youngest. How does all this translate to a 2.5yo doing worksheets intended for 4/5yos

 

She uses two types of crayons, 'jumbo' kids whiteboard crayons for protected pages, and the handwriting without tears flip crayons for paper. Her grip is actually very good with the jumbo crayons, neatness depends on her effort which varies line-to-line, but with good effort her control is very good, comparable to what i have seen from Kers. She also colours mostly in the lines. The problem comes with the HWT flip crayons. They are the recomended 1-2 inch stub crayons for developing grip, but, because ive taught her to rest the crayon against the third finger and tuck the other two underneath, like this http://charlotteoccupationaltherapy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/pencil_grip3.jpg , as opposed to gripping the crayon with three fingers, she finds there just isnt enough space between hand and paper for those 3 fingers and begins twisting her hand into funny angles.

 

Am i going about all this the right way? I wonder if i should just drop the flip crayons and get full size ones, but then, should she be able to use them? Is there something wrong if she cant? Should i drop pencil grip altogether like some experts seem to say?

 

Did anyone here teach proper grip first to a young student? I am really anxious about this. I can go back and fix a lot of things, but its very, very hard to fix a poor pencil grip, i know from experience. I really want to get this bit right :) but most people dont seem to know, or care, about grip before age 4, and I dont think she would let me stall her that long, our 'schoolwork' is the favourite part of her day, and she loves showing me when she can do 'tricky' ones lol.

[Maela]

I can't really help as I don't have much experience, but I'm interested in other posters' replies.

 

When dd was three I didn't mess with her grip because I figured she would pick it up later. I don't know if it was a huge mistake or not; her grip is mostly okay, but recently (she's six) I've noticed her wrist is a little weird when she writes, so we've been working on that.

DS started out holding his pencil correctly at two. Don't know how that happened.?? Now at four, sometimes I see him holding it in a weird way (kind of like dd actually), and I correct it right away.

[SKL]

When Miss A took the test for vision problems at age 2.5, pencil grip was her only above-average skill.  It was not 100% correct but almost.  Now 3 years later I sometimes catch her with a terrible grip.  No idea how that happened.

 

What I did was just demonstrate how I held writing utensils, and they copied me naturally, as far as I remember.  We used regular-sized crayons / pencils / markers.  I didn't push anything at that age, but I can't see any problem in demonstrating and encouraging up to a point.

 

If holding a writing utensil proves difficult, consider using fat markers / whiteboard pens.  They are much easier to write with and thus less frustrating for a learner.

[Arcadia]

For my older, we show him proper grip when he was two as he went to an academic preschool for a short while when he was 2yrs 8mths. We didn't enforce it but his grip until now is correct. My younger is still ambidextrous and didn't go to preschool so we didn't pay as much attention to grip. I was more entertained by him switching hands when drawing or writing.

 

They started with markers and normal crayons.

[Kerileanne99]

My daughter started from the very beginning writing with a proper grip because that is what I demonstrated. And you are correct, IMO, there IS a difference between scribbling at 2.5 and writing properly...of course, if she wants to do it and is demonstratng she can, go with it.

My daughter was just about that age when she was insistent that she would write herself. She was already reading well, but her incentive to write very early was numbers. She REALLY wanted to be able to do her 'math' at that point. I did give her number stamps and scribed for her, but there comes a point where you have to help them do it properly or risk them taking matters into their own hands! This can be really cool, child-led learning yes...but I did not want to take the chance with writing.

If her grip changed, or even now over a year later, I just gently corrected...and made sure we continued to work on hand strength as she tired easily.

As far as size of implement goes. I never broke her crayons up for her as she would have thrown a monumental fit, and it never seemed to be an issue. When she learned to write lettersI gave her larger dry-erase markers on a vertical dry-erase board to help with friction and build strength.

I have noticed that with pencils we take them down to half length. Both for writing and for things like coloring in the Draw Write Now drawings. She has much better control with the shorter pencils, and can make much shorter and more precise strokes this way.

Oh! After reading a blog from a PT on children and grip, I did make her a 'sock puppet' when she was about 2 and starting more scribbling that she could wear when writing. The idea is that you cut small holes for the thumb and first 2 fingers, whilst the ring finger and pinky are still tucked inside the sock. Hers was her friend, with little googly eyes and yarn hair, so she wanted to wear it. This helped a lot, but would not be something I would force on a young kid if they weren't interested in wearing it! The biggest difference between a child learning to write at 2.5 and say 5.5, I think, must be genuine interest in doing so:)

 

I guess, however, it is too soon to tell if her grip will revert.

[Korrale]

I taught my son proper pencil grip from the start. He was a lefty. I used twistable crayons and emphasized "pinchy fingers and a support" He didn't go through any grip stages. He had amazing drawing skills at 2. Then he switched hands on his own at 3 and became a righty, and his neatness degraded.

But despite his neatness suffering he still always used proper grip. To be cheeky sometimes he writes or draws with 2 hands simultaneously.

 

We steer clear of oversized jumbo type crayons and pencils. I read somewhere about how a big writing implement in tiny hands is like us writing with a broomstick. And after checking out my son's grip I agree.

I highly recommend what are called golf pencils. Short ordinary lead pencils. We just chopped down ours with our chop saw. And I recommend 2B because the lead glides smoother.

[Korrale]

I taught my son proper pencil grip from the start. He was a lefty. I used twistable crayons and emphasized "pinchy fingers and a support" He didn't go through any grip stages. He had amazing drawing skills at 2. Then he switched hands on his own at 3 and became a righty, and his neatness degraded.

But despite his neatness suffering he still always used proper grip. To be cheeky sometimes he writes or draws with 2 hands simultaneously.

 

We steer clear of oversized jumbo type crayons and pencils. I read somewhere about how a big writing implement in tiny hands is like us writing with a broomstick. And after checking out my son's grip I agree.

I highly recommend what are called golf pencils. Short ordinary lead pencils. We just chopped down ours with our chop saw. And I recommend 2B because the lead glides smoother.

[kiwik]

I taught mine from the start but they weren't that far off anyway. Ds6 I showed a couple of times and I think he showed ds4 when ds4 was about 2 because he suddenly started saying "look mum I can hold mu pencil like...".

[bakpak]

Can't really answer your question properly, but can say that my DD started holding regular sized crayons/markers properly as soon as she had them in her hand. I first put one in front of her at 13 months and she picked it up, held it correctly, and she immediately started scribbling. A few months later she started fisting it a few times, but then went back to holding it properly on her own a few days later. I may have corrected her grip once or twice to move her hand down closer to the table. Anyway, my point is that she's 4 now and never had any problems, so I don't know how much credence to give 'it will screw them up if they hold a pencil correctly when they're young'. She never liked the fat crayons, preferring things that fit her hand size better. I personally would let your child use the size/item that is most comfortable for them...each child is different.

[La Condessa]

Yeah, that doesn't seem to make much sense, that holding it correctly early would mean they no longer could later. I wouldn't push a little one to do it that way if it didn't come easily, but I've always just put a crayon or pencil in their hand the right way when handing one to my little ones, and they either used it that way or switched it to a different grip if they weren't ready yet. My kids have all picked up the proper grip really ridiculously early, and while they might have occasionally held it incorrectly later on, they have always self-corrected pretty quickly when that happened. My girls always preferred short pencils of a normal diameter for coloring and writing. We actually sawed a whole pack of colored pencils in half, because our oldest was always digging through searching for the oldest, most sharpened-down or broken pencils to use.

[jenbrdsly]

Triangular crayons might also be a way to go.  They have them at The Old Spaghetti Factory when you order the kids menu.  Whenever we go there for dinner I think "Ooooh!  These are really cool!"

[Jackie]

My daughter is only 3.25 years old, so I have no idea how this will work long term, but we are doing a hybrid. When she is playing around doing art or trying to write numbers and letters independently, I don't mess with her grip; she is mostly using a pronated grip currently. We do the Kumon fine motor skill workbooks, including the tracing and mazes ones. For those, I ask that she hold the writing implement correctly and I've explained to her that it is so she will be comfortable holding her pencil correctly when we do more letters.

 

She was having problems with remembering the correct grip, so I bought some of these and put them on a few of her markers or pencils and she likes them: http://www.amazon.com/The-Writing-Utensils-Assorted-TPG-21106/dp/B003BNJB94/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1380916993&sr=8-2&keywords=claw+grips. I drew a star in Sharpie on the part where her middle finger goes, because the way these are built if you put your middle finger in first everything easily lines up from there.

[abba12]

Thanks for the advice ladies!

 

Regarding her naturally picking up the grip from watching me, that actually isn't possible. Even today, I do not have a proper pencil grip. I experience pain when writing, but I experience even more pain if I try to swap to the correct grip, and my barely readable writing becomes completely illegible. It's just too late for me. But I am aware of this, and as such, I avoid writing in front of her. If I need to show her an example of something, I prefer to have her holding the crayon and my hand wrapping around hers, or if I really need to do it, I force myself to use the correct grip, but I can't do it long, or neatly. I am considering having Daddy do some of the fine motor stuff with her, because, while his writing is as bad as mine, at least his grip is correct.

 

I think we will try and move away from the jumbo crayons, the only reason they were being used is I couldn't find whiteboard crayons which were not oversized. But I am wondering about alternatives, or even moving to thin whiteboard markers in preference.

 

Thanks for all the stories of children who learnt the right grip early and are fine with it now. I think we will adjust our writing implements, get rid of the stupid short crayons which she can't hold properly, and keep going as we are (I place it in her hand with the right grip, and she keeps it there)

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

Having worked with high school kids with tortured grips, I saw teaching grip as a priority with DD. After trying a few different slide-on grips, we just hit on one that worked. Some will fit on crayons.

 

Two lessons from our outstanding preschool teacher were 1. Work the major shoulder muscles by elevating an easel so kids have to reach up just a bit to write, and use a lot of clay and sand play to strengthen fingers. 2. Golf pencils! Those little stubby pencils are short enough to not be top heavy for a little hand. I got a boxfull on eBay.

[genny]

My youngest daughter (almost 3) naturally uses a correct grip.  She has advanced motor skills IMO (she had her pincer grip down before 6 months old).  My oldest dd I tried teaching proper grip at around 3 and had such a difficult time because she is slow as far as motor skills go with other kids her age.   I didn't teach grip with my oldest son and started in September (just turned 5)  teaching him letter formation, pencil grip and he has had no problem going from a improper grip to an amazing grip in less than a week.  IMHO I think it all depends on the child.  If her motor skills are ready...go for it!  I also found the HWOT crayons to not be useful for proper grip.  I use regular and 3 sided crayons with my 3 year old.

 

HTH's