https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:35:13 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-help-lo-hold-a-pencil-correctly#post-2087967 Fri, 27 Feb 2015 05:58:27 +0000 honeybear 2087967@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I looked into this a bit because while I know what the "proper" grasp is, I have never used it willingly. But, my handwriting is beautiful. Like, John Hancock-esque gorgeous cursive and printing that people remark on fairly regularly, even though I mostly type now and haven't been in a grade school in...a long time. I've been successfully writing for, ahem, several decades with my inelegant pencil grasp, so I gravitate to the idea that a grasp should be functional, even if it isn't perfect. </p> <p>Anyhow, all that is to say that I did a tiny bit of looking around and I found confirmation of my suspicions: </p> <p><a href="http://theanonymousot.com/2013/03/22/when-to-fix-a-pencil-grasp/" rel="nofollow">http://theanonymousot.com/2013/03/22/when-to-fix-a-pencil-grasp/</a></p> <p>And this: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23106992" rel="nofollow">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23106992</a></p> <p>The main takeaways are: 1) 3 year olds are still developing the fine motor skills necessary for writing (so maybe don't stress too much, but practice things other than writing/drawing that require LO to use a pincer grasp, etc.), and 2) grasps can and do change over time as kids mature. </p> <p>My LO is approaching 5 and since he was never really into drawing/coloring we didn't do much of it when he was younger, but he has always enjoyed playing with little stuff--Legos, those tiny green model soldiers, play dough, pipe cleaners, etc.--which all give him a hand workout. If your LO wants to do writing/drawing at 3, I'd perhaps do some forefinger-writing using the Montessori-style sandpaper letters/numbers or a sand box. </p> <p>Also, I believe the "trick" to getting the gold-standard tripod grasp is to put your pencil down so the point faces your hand, pinch a bit above the tip with your thumb and forefinger, and then flip the pencil over with your other hand so it rests against the writing hand. I've tried that (and I have vague memories of doing it in grade school) and it does indeed put the pencil in your hand in the "correct" position, but you'll have to pry my pen from my cold, dead, quadrupod-grasping hand, man. ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-help-lo-hold-a-pencil-correctly#post-2087963 Fri, 27 Feb 2015 03:57:24 +0000 BunnyDragon 2087963@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO is almost 3 &amp; 1/2 yrs old and he can't seem to hold his pencil or crayon correctly. He uses all of his fingers to color and switchs to another hand because I think his hand gets tired from holding the pencil/crayon incorrectly. I dread working on writing with him because he whines the whole time and asks me to do it instead.<br /> Are there any exercises or tips you can share to correct this? </p>