How can I help my child's handwriting?

Question

My child's handwriting is very sloppy, how do I make it better?

Answer 1

If your child is still learning how to form some letters, it may be beneficial to use a program such as Printing Like a Pro, which groups letters together in terms of formation, and offers consistent language to narrate the letter sequence. It also requires the student to self-evaluate their letters. After practicing each letter, the program proceeds to words and then sentences. If the child is beyond that level in skill and already has most letters down, strategies such as paper with highlighted baselines, spacer tools, and/or handwriting checklists could be tried depending on the issues with the writing. If they are upper elementary and older, typing may be an accommodation to start considering.

Answer 2

His fingers first need to strengthen. Certain sky playing and molding with play dough can help. Good handwriting turns out best when practiced daily. Try holding the pen between the thumb and forefinger and second finger in a slant position. Practice makes perfect. Allow him to trace letters and numbers. Letters in upper case first and then lowercase becomes easy. Continue this practice daily and once he enjoys this activity he can then be given a task of copying text from a book just to enable him to focus on near handwriting.

Answer 3

Proper handwriting comes from practice, but also strength in the child's hands. Improving the fine motor (small movements) will help tremendously. Some ways to strengthen fine motor skills include working with play doh, clay, putty, etc. Have your child use these mediums to stretch, roll, create letters and numbers. Strengthening the pinching grip is also a very fun activity that will help build hand muscles. Using tweezers, lacing cards, (lace a piece of yarn through a series of holes) pipe cleaners through a colander are all fun ways to build up hand muscles.

Practice proper pencil grip, letter formation and using a finger space between words will all help to make the handwriting neater.