8 Ways to make your child enjoy writing

Many educators no longer consider handwriting a crucial skill because technology has changed our world. Even then the skill of handwriting is still important .Before trying to help a child whose experiencing difficulty in writing one has to get the child evaluated to see whether it is physical or a cognitive issue. India being an academically- oriented country, a lot of importance is given to formal education than the informal pragmatic one and, therefore often, a child is forced to write even when his/her milestones haven’t developed. In many cases, this leads to resentment which maybe very difficult in the future to deal with.
I would like to stress on aspects which I worked upon as a mother  to ensure that my child would not end up resenting writing. Here are some fun- filled activities through which he took to writing more willingly.

1)  Work on fine-motor skills: Buying a toy xylophone and a piano can work wonders, because they help in wrist strengthening and finger strengthening. Also, look for pop-up toys through which little children can improve fine motor skills. Buttoning shirts with big buttons, zipping dolls jackets also contribute to the handwriting part. Lacing beads is also a good activity to improve fine motor skills.
 
2) Work on developing muscle control and independent usage of muscles: Household chores like folding hankies, pouring water, transferring water/food from one bowl to the other, kneading dough, and using the rolling pin can be taught in a role play method. Putting pegs on a clothesline, arranging books, wiping plates after washing them are some practical activities that help children in strengthening their muscles and fingers. Whisking eggs in a bowl is also fun for some children. It helps in muscle strengthening control and is fun.

3) Boost pincer grip: Use of tongs and tweezers-I have used tongs and tweezers to boost pincer grip. Tongs can be used to pick up small toys, cut fruits in dices. Also, lots of role play toys, cake slicers, icecream scoops are available which can be used. These are toys and hence are safe.

4) Develop Eye-hand coordination: Using stem of spoon to let the child cut slices of a banana also teach him control and eye-hand coordination. I blew bubbles and got him burst them with index finger which helped him in hand and eye coordination. A lot of scissor works were done too.

5) Make books fun: Reading can improve handwriting and introduce the child to new words. There are lot of early reading books which can improve children’s learning abilities, listening abilities and help in writing in the long run.

6) Trace alphabets on different surfaces: I have loved playing play dough with my child. We still makes letters from play dough like A,B,C and now we make words with it..... it’s fun and when completed is rewarding.  I made my child write letters in the air with his index finger and then I made him trace them on sand in a tray. This made him get the concept of the alphabet.  Using erasable crayons, I have gotten my child to write on walls. Use chunky thick crayons  or thick chalks. A child can manage a good grip on these. I allotted a corner wall to teach him to write. I would write on the wall and then he would follow me. It is always beneficial for wrists to write on a hard surface. I drew on floors , only to make him write. I also got him a door blackboard which I stuck on the door to let him enjoy scribbling. I got him to write letters with shaving cream on mirrors.

7) Work on fingers: I got my child a lot of finger painting, vegetable printing , leaf printing, thumb impressions, hand impressions activities done. We make handmade thankyou cards with finger painting. To help the child write, buy dark 6B pencils as light graphite can disinterest the child.

8) A lot of outside play activity has to be encouraged such as climbing, crawling, cycling. This helps in developing gross motor skills and if that is worked upon the others will follow.

Parents have to be very patient and loving   in order to make the child do something. We have to first build an interest in the child and not push the child into the rat race.