Handwriting Assistance for Parents
You should note your child's body position while he/she is working. Correct body alignment enables all the muscles to work in unison and support one another. Make sure your child is sitting up straight, chair pushed in, and holding their head erect. Strength and stability in the large muscles, such as those in the shoulders, head, and back, aid in hand and wrist development.
We have shown your child how to use a tripod grip on their pencil. You may need to show your child how the thumb, index, and middle fingers should move with the pencil as he/she writes. If he/she is having a hard time with the tripod grip, you can place a cotton ball in the palm of his/her hand to facilitate the finger curl of the tripod grip.
Strengthening Activities:
You can do many strengthening activities to faciliate hand and finger strength, such as:
- Working on a vertical chalkboard
- Using a felt board or magnet board mounted on a wall
- Working with puzzles or play-doh on a slanted surface
- Drawing on paper mounted to a wall or easel
- Putting together construction toys, such as legos or k'nex
- Ripping paper
- Stirring sand or water
- Using sidewalk chalk
- Using a hole puncher
- Doing finger gymnastics by tapping one finger at a time on the table or tapping it together with the thumb (do this with one hand then the other)