Pencil grips - tips and advice

Pencil grip is only one part of handwriting. In nursery and school, a variety of pencil holds will be seen. Most children develop a pencil hold that is comfortable for them. By the age of nine, most children have developed a pencil grip that is comfortable for them and it can be difficult to change this.

The type of pencil grip your child uses is only a problem if it is making writing difficult to read, is not
writing at a reasonable speed, or makes their hand sore or tired.

If their grasp is impacting on writing, these suggestions should be tried:

• Show your child the correct way to hold their pencil e.g. tripod grip. Help your child place
  their finger and thumb in the correct finger position
• If your child has difficulty placing their thumb in the correct position, put a coloured dot on
  the place where this thumb needs to go to provide a visual reminder
• Praise your child when they hold their pencil in a good position
• Use pencil grips to help your child use the thumb, index and middle finger to hold the pencil
  (Cross guard, ultra, grotto)
• Trial different types and sizes of pencils and pens. Some children work better with roller
  pens, pens with indents for fingers and others with fountain pens. Trial different pens to
  establish a preferred option
• Writing on a chalkboard using very small pieces of chalk encourages a tripod grasp which
  involves the use of the thumb, index and middle finger
• Shorten crayons and pencils to 3cms, to encourage a tripod grip