How to fix bad handwriting in a child: tips for parents

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Why does your child have bad handwriting, why constant training is harmful for calligraphy and how to "put" your hand for beautiful writing

First grade is coming to an end, and your child is still writing like a chicken with a paw. Doodles in notebooks do not lend themselves to either the teacher or long home workouts. On the contrary: the more the kid pores over the recipes, the worse he gets. Many parents at this stage decide not to torture themselves or their child. After all, now "by hand" is no longer written anywhere, because in adulthood, bad handwriting will not become a problem. However, do not forget that the child has 11 years of lessons ahead, which will have to be done in notebooks, and not on the computer. Wrong handwriting will become a learning problem, and low calligraphy scores can hurt the self-esteem of even the smartest student.

Why does a child write ugly

Almost all children have calligraphy problems in first grade / istockphoto.com

If you are worried that your child is clumsy and unable to master the simple task of writing, take it easy. Problems with

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calligraphy in primary school, all children are tested. According to the teachers, only a few people succeed in writing beautifully and correctly: most often it is three or four people in the class. The rest of the science of writing is given hard, and there is a very simple explanation for this. Writing is a skill associated with several loads at once:

  • you need to maintain the same posture forced for the child for some time (load on the back)
  • you need to look in one direction for more than 5 minutes (stress on the eyes)
  • you need to monitor the correct spelling of hooks and sticks (stress on the brain)
  • you need to display prescriptions according to the rules and in a clearly allotted space (load on the hand)

Such "multitasking" is not always possible for a small child. Even if your little one can spend hours painting and decorating, this does not compare with the level of stress that he receives while writing. Therefore, do not be surprised or angry if your talented little artist in notebooks displays frankly lopsided letters. To write beautifully and correctly, it is necessary that each skill of the child individually be brought to automatism.

What should be a beautiful handwriting

"Dirt" in a notebook most often comes from improper handwriting / istockphoto.com

Beautiful writing and beautiful handwriting are very subjective characteristics. Someone likes small letters, someone loves and deliberately develops an uncharacteristic tilt to the right. If we are talking about little children, then the word "beautiful" in relation to handwriting should be replaced with the correct one. It is a neat letter that follows the basic principles of calligraphy. Signs of improper handwriting in children most often include:

  • different sizes of letters in height and width, their difference in inclination
  • inconsistency of the "frames" of the letter: letters dance over the line or slide off it
  • unnecessary elements in the spelling of the letters "w", "i", "m"
  • similar spelling of the letters "n", "p", "i", "k"
  • "Dirt" in the notebook: the child points the letters or sketches several times mistakes
  • lack of frames: while writing, the child constantly leaves the fields or climbs onto another page

How to teach a child to write correctly

First of all, for the correct writing, you need to create favorable conditions for the child. Ideally, if he does not think about how to hold the pen and does not lie down with his chest on the table to start a sentence on a new sheet. Therefore, make sure that the following conditions are met:

The correct posture for writing

For a beautiful letter, you need to properly sit at the table / istockphoto.com

A child's handwriting is highly dependent on how he sits. Incorrect letter tilt, lack of parallelism, or a different tilt of each letter in one word are signs that an incorrect fit is preventing your child from writing. Explain to your child that it is not necessary to sit at the letter in the way that is convenient for him at the moment. There are rules, having mastered which, he will be able to write much faster and easier.

While writing, the child should sit upright, "maintaining" an even back. Legs should be brought together. Do not let them dangle in the air - if the child does not reach the floor, put a special support under his feet. The left and right hand should be described to the edges of the table.

To comply with these rules, it is very important that the workplace is suitable for the child. Therefore, it is very undesirable to do homework in the kitchen or at my father's computer desk. The height of the table and chair should be adjusted clearly for the child's height so that he does not have to reach for the notebook or, conversely, bend over it in three deaths.

Correct grip of the handle

Improper grip on the handle causes the hand to get tired faster / istockphoto.com

This is a very important rule that is often overlooked. As with the posture while writing - you need to hold the pen not as comfortable as it is, but in the right way. Teach your child this grip: place the pen on the left side of the middle finger and place your index finger on top of the handle and your thumb on the bottom. In this case, the nameless finger and little finger should be inside the palm. Try to prevent the kid from grasping the pen close to the tip - the distance to the writing part of the rod should be at least 1.5 cm. This will allow the child not to squeeze the pen and will allow her to freely slide over the notebook while writing.

Do not be lazy to pay a lot of attention to this issue - due to the wrong grab handle the problem will not only be with the handwriting. The child's hand will get tired much faster, and in the future he may lag behind his classmates when he has to write a dictation or write a short summary for the teacher. The special rubber nozzles on the handle - the so-called "self-taught handle", form the correct grip very well. They can be bought at any stationery store, and they cost about 20-30 UAH.

Correct position of the notebook

Incorrect tilt of the notebook damages handwriting and vision / istockphoto.com

You do not need to twist and twirl the notebook while writing. Explain to your child that it should take its fixed place on the table and that you can only move it up as the text moves along the page. A correctly positioned notebook should point slightly to the right with its center than the middle of the baby's chest. The lower right corner is slightly raised and the left one is lowered. When measured with a protractor, the ideal tilt of the notebook is 15 degrees. In this position, the child reaches well with his hand to the beginning and end of the line, and the hand moves freely in the direction of the letter.

How to train your hand to write correctly

Any games with small objects will help you to correct your handwriting / istockphoto.com

Three pages of words a day is the worst possible solution. Indeed, the skill of correct writing is practiced during training. However, you should not force the child to write more than he was asked by the teacher. First, you just tire the child. Secondly, the writing (and hence the letter as a whole) will cause him a banal rejection. It is much more effective to train fingers with development exercises. fine motor skills. After all, the writing skill is directly related to how skillfully the child's hands are controlled with small objects.

For the development of fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, the following activities are well suited:

  • modeling from plasticine (take the most ordinary plasticine, which must be kneaded and heated well before use)
  • coloring pictures with small and very detailed details
  • shading, outlining drawings by points, tasks for drawing symmetrical elements
  • lacing, beading, laying out pictures with sequins and rhinestones
  • sewing, embroidery, macrame
  • collecting puzzles and mosaics
  • construction from small parts
  • scissor cutting and applique without scissors (tear-off applique)

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What Bad Children's Handwriting Can Tell

Mirror handwriting in a child: when to sound the alarm

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