Children are quick learners and are very enthusiastic about picking up new skills. They ask numerous questions and are perpetually seeking answers. That is why teaching any new skill to your child can be a fun, yet challenging task. This is because keeping up with a child’s thought process and keeping him engaged enough to learn something often gets daunting. When it comes to learning how to write, different kids show different levels of interest. Some are super excited while others are least interested. Normally, kids are taught the art of writing right from pre-school where they are exposed to a lot of new words, sentences, numbers and so on. The curiosity in children increases when they see people around them writing and hence they mimic the same by drawing lines and scribbling on the paper. The fact that every child is unique makes it necessary to try an array of methods to help your child learn how to write, the correct way. Afterall, who knows what might click! Since holding a pencil and learning fine motor skills can be difficult for the kids, here are 9 tips on how to efficiently teach your child to write.

9 tips on how to teach your child write

#1. Build Stronger Hands And Fingers

The foremost thing that you can work on is getting your child to build stronger hand muscles as this will enable better grasping and controlled movements. Engaging kids in outdoor activities like climbing, swinging, pushing, pulling etc. will also help strengthen the overall hand muscles. You can encourage your child to draw often to build good control over their fingers and strengthen them. A crayon or a smaller sized pencil works really well for balancing in their little hands.

#2. Making The Right Grip

Once your child is comfortable holding a crayon or chalk in their fingers, you need to make sure the grip is maintained correctly and is easy to hold. Make sure the pencil is held between the thumb and the index finger and rests on the middle finger. Lefties may face a little problem as they tend to cover the words with their hands. In such cases, gripping the pencil above the tip would be helpful.

#3. Play “Write With Food”

Encourage children to practice writing letters on sugar, flour, rice etc. by spreading the contents on a plate or any table and ensure they use their index finger to draw them. You can help them to learn to move from left to right and top to bottom. This method is not just fun but will also help children learn to write letters without physically holding a pencil. Also Read: 10 Most Recommended Books For Kids

#4. Give Sufficient Scribbling Time

It is important to let your child spend some free time simply scribbling on the paper with crayons or pencils. This creates a fun habit of writing and can later be utilized to show the child the correct method of holding and writing with a pencil. Since they would fail first few times, it will eventually teach them the correct method.

#5. Teaching Letter Recognition

You can inspire your child to learn alphabets by introducing them to different shapes and make them memorize those shapes. Recognizing and remembering shapes like lines, curves etc. will help in learning alphabets easily. For example, by recognizing lines, your child will find it easy to learn alphabets like A, T, V, Y etc. and U, C, O by recognizing curves and so on. You can also teach letter recognition with different alphabet magnets and blocks.

#6. Cultivate A Reading Habit

Expose your child to story books and make sure to collectively have a reading habit every day. Attempting to read helps children understand the letters more comfortably and therefore will make their writing method more effective. Question your child about different letters in magazines and newspapers and reward them for correct letters recognized or written. Also Read: 64 gift ideas of toys for kids on their birthday

#7. Use Highlighters To Understand Lines

To practice writing between two lines may become a challenging task for children. Using a highlighter to differentiate these lines from one another can be a useful way to teach the concept of lines to children, and how to maintain the length of letters while writing. Notebooks with double, single and four lines are very helpful, as it helps the child to learn the difference between staying within the mild lines and touching the bold lines. Also Read: 100 Game Ideas for kids- Age group 3-7 years

#8. Indulge In Fun Games

It is always easy for children to remember lessons taught to them when there is fun involved within. Fun games like connecting dots to form letters, recognizing letters by tracing them on a surface, shouting aloud while writing the letters etc. leave a stronger impression on the child enabling him/her to remember the skill learnt.

#9. Progress With Patience

It is equally important to ensure your child is given sufficient time to get comfortable with the art of writing. Dedicate quality time and make sure to observe the small improvements which will keep you updated about the progress of your child. Do not rush into to the next stage until the child is comfortable and has learnt well. Want to share your mommy experience with other moms through words or images? Become a part of the Moms United community. Click here and we will get in touch with you

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