Developmental Writing Deep Dive Part 1: Pencil Grip

There are 5 common pencil grips that children will move through on their way to one of the two most common traditional grips. The pencil grips you see below your child will move through in their own time. Some may be skipped, and sometimes when you think they have moved past one they will return back to it, but do not fret, this is common and expected. The most important thing you can do for your child as they work through these grips over the years (yes, years), is give them time. Time to explore, time to try new writing utensils, time to feel confident and then try something new. Rushing or forcing a grip is going to result in the non traditional grips that I described previously, and these hinder a child’s writing fluency. It is also important to note that a child will switch hands when developing their pencil grip. Hand dominance is typically established from 3-6 years old, a wide spread of years, so allow your child to explore using both hands as they will also settle into their dominant hand in their own time.