Grip Tips: Help your child develop an age-appropriate grip

Does your child hold their pencil or crayon in a “death grip”? Does he hold it too lightly or touch it only with the tips of his fingers? Does your child complain that his hand hurts so he can’t complete his homework at school?

As an occupational therapist in a school district, I often see children using inappropriate grips when writing. Why is pencil grip so important? A proper pencil grip will directly affect your child’s writing. If her hand gets tired too quickly, she won’t want to write by hand. Children will try to avoid handwriting altogether, which ultimately affects their academic studies.

There are developmental stages for grasps, just like a child learns to crawl before they can walk. The first stage is to hold the writing instrument like a fist, which is called a thick grip. This increases strength and stability on the little finger side of the hand. Stability is extremely important when the child is expected to write for long periods of time years after they have developed. The second stage is to hold the pencil with a digital pronated grip. This is where the child holds the pencil by the point with the thumb and forefinger and the palm of the hand is on the axis of the pencil. This increases strength and dexterity in the first three fingers of the hand. Dexterity is extremely important to improve writing fluency and efficiency. The third stage involves holding the pencil by the tip with the eraser pointing up and the shaft of the pencil resting in the space between the thumb and forefinger. This space is called web space. The web space must be open and loose so as not to cause tension in the hand. Also, the last 2 fingers of the hand should be tucked into the palm for stability (which was learned in stage one). At this time it is typical for the child to move their hand as a unit. He can also use his entire arm to color. This is acceptable if it is functional for their developmental age. The following stages incorporate this tripod grip. However, the main goal is to move only the fingertips while the arm and wrist are stable.

Now that you know the progression of holds, what can you do to make these holds easier? The most effective GRIP TIP is to discard all long, thick writing implements. Children have small hands and must use small writing implements. I highly recommend that you break all of your crayons into halves or thirds. Use golf pencils and sharpen them to be 2-3 inches long. Many parents and teachers are often surprised when asked to do this “silly” act. However, the result is usually worth it. If a writing instrument is long or tall, there is room for the child to hold it with all sorts of weird grips. If the implement is short, there is only room for the first three fingers to hold it. This will ultimately encourage a perfect grip on the tripod!

Now that you know how to promote writing dexterity, what happens when a child seems to lack stability? Lack of stability is usually indicated by very sloppy handwriting, very weak handwriting, or the child is having difficulty writing on the line. The other possibility is that the child is trying to compensate for her lack of stability by grasping her pencil with a “death grip.” This is when a child can overlap her fingers on other fingers. For example, a child can run his thumb across the front of the pencil and his index finger. Ultimately, this leads to reduced web space. The child will tend to write with very strong pressure, break the pencil point, or complain of hand pain after a few minutes. An effective GRIP TIP to promote stability is to place a small object in the palm of your hand so that the last two fingers have to hold the object. Any object would suffice, as long as it is comfortable for the child. A popular item is to use a penny and call it a “magic penny”.

Keep in mind that these techniques can cause hand fatigue when your child first tries them. This is because your child’s muscles have already been trained to perform in a certain way. Ultimately, you are retraining your child’s muscles. However, once your child’s muscles adjust, your child’s writing will be on the road to success!