By 5 or 6 years of age, children's finger muscles are more developed and strong enough to grip a pencil correctly, using only three-fingers—their thumb, index, and middle finger.
By age 4, a child may have progressed through several types of grasps while scribbling and drawing, from the “fist” or “power” grasp to a more mature way of holding a crayon or pencil, such as the dynamic tripod grasp. Kids usually develop this grasp between the ages of 4 and 6.
Between two and three years of age, a child's pencil grasp will transition from the cylindrical grasp (this fisted, whole hand grasp) into the radial cross palmer, where the fingers are all pointed down toward the paper, rather than the palm.
When the finger muscles are underdeveloped, it leads to a lack of coordination. You will see kids try to hold the pencil any way they can in order to stabilize it. Increasing fine motor play opportunities will help to build the intrinsic muscles of the hand, and it should improve hand coordination as well.
By 5 or 6 years of age, children's finger muscles are more developed and strong enough to grip a pencil correctly, using only three-fingers—their thumb, index, and middle finger. You may notice that your child switches back and forth between using a five-finger and three-finger grip as they practice writing.
But basically, it is inappropriate to make a 3 year old hold the pencil the way a Grade 1 child does (ie with a "correct 3 point" pencil grip). They really need to hold the pencil with their whole hand, because that is what they are developmentally ready for.
By age 3 to 4 a child will switch to a static tripod grasp or quadrupod grasp. They hold the writing utensils crudely and use the whole pads of their fingers on the writing utensil. There also may still be some wrist and forearm movement to move the pencil, with the fingers not moving, or static.
I've found that one of the best and most natural ways to discourage a fisted grip and encourage a more functional pencil grasp is to offer a short writing tool such as a broken crayon or short pencil. It's just too small for a palmar grip, but just right for fitting between his fingers.
To demonstrate, by the age of three, there are many physical milestones a child should reach. Check out the following list of physical achievements to gauge your child's development. Most children at this age will be able to write their name, write some letters of the alphabet, and draw simple shapes.
By the age of 8 / 9 years old it can be very difficult to get a child to change their pencil grip especially if the old grip, like the quadrupod grip (Stage 4), is very similar to the new grip the dynamic tripod grip.
Step 1: Starting with a pencil in your child's writing hand, have them pinch the pencil between their index finger and thumb. Step 2: Without using any other fingers, ask them to flip the pencil forward, while continuing to grip the pencil between their index finger and thumb.
Consider your child's age
Developmentally, your 2 to 4 year old's hands will struggle to hold something thin like an adult's pencil. Using adult sized pencils is a recipe for disaster for your child, who is likely to get frustrated and give up.
All young kids have some difficulty when it comes to writing or perfecting penmanship. But if your child's handwriting is consistently distorted or unclear, that may be caused by a learning disability called dysgraphia. This is a nervous system problem that affects the fine motor skills needed to write.
It is not until after the age of 4 that your child may start to draw a separate body. Drawing is a way for your child to be able to show their thoughts and understanding of the world. Drawing develops through a number of stages and by 4 years old a child should be able to draw a basic representation of a person.
Get a Grip
There are firm pencil grips, called Stetro grips, that help the fingers stay in position. The Stetro grip fits near the tip of the pencil and has indentations for the thumb, index, and middle fingers.
The answer is YES, it does matter!
Your pencil grasp is directly related to handwriting speed and legibility, as having a mature grasp is more efficient and less tiring on your hands (Schwellnus, et al., 2012).
Opportunities to build on strengths: From the time they are diagnosed, children with autism are judged for what they can't do and taught to “catch up” with others. In the arts, however, children with autism often have the edge. Many are quite talented in drawing, music, and even drama.
Should be able to say about 500 to 900 words between ages 3 to 4 years old. Speech can be understood by others. Speaks in two or three word sentences and progresses to four- to five-word sentences.
During this stage, children should be able to ride a tricycle, use safety scissors, notice a difference between girls and boys, help to dress and undress themselves, play with other children, recall part of a story, and sing a song.
Head, stick body and one other body part such as arm or leg). 4-6 years old: Static Tripod grip. This is a 3 finger grasp, where the thumb, index finger and middle finger work as one unit. At this age, children should be able to copy a diagonal line, a square, a diagonal cross, a circle and a triangle.
By age 5-6, or even a bit later with some children, they should be comfortable using a tripod pencil grip, where the thumb, middle and index fingers are grasping the pencil or crayon.
Preschoolers start "writing" by scribbling and drawing letter-like shapes in a large circular motion. Often, a young child's first letters are drawn by accident and then identified by the child or parent.