How do I help my 4 y/o son with his pencil/crayon grip?

Question

Actually, he will be 4 in a month.

He is so SMART!! A real wiz with puzzles, blocks, patterns... he even does simple math problems. But he cannot hold a pencil or crayon. It's not quite like a baby fist grip- he positions his hand almost like a claw and can't bear any pressure on the writing tip.

His fine motor skills are otherwise excellent. He can string beads and manipulate tiny objects.

I've heard that boys take longer than girls to master this, but it seems that by almost 4 years old, he ought to be a little closer.

Answer 1

get this special gripper it is supposed to get their finger in the right spots i had to use it when i was younger it really helped

Answer 2

He needs some strengthening of the hand muscles... playdough is great for that.  Have him manipulate, squish and play with playdough or silly putty.  Squeezing it really helps to not only work on muscles in the fingers, but relaxing as well.  Those "therapy" balls really help too... the ones that are made out of the material  that is kind of like " space foam" that springs back.  Have him squeeze these for about 5 minutes twice a day to work the muscles.  Instead of giving him a regular pencil, put one of those wide pencil grips on it so that it gives him a better grip until he is able to have the muscle strength to hold it without the grip on it.

Answer 3

Don't laugh!!! Teach him to use chopsticks ...take two chopsticks, roll a piece of paper up and rubberband them together wedging the paper between the two, (make two sets so you can do it too)Then you hold the chopsticks like you hold a pencil. Put corn flakes on a paper plate and move them around and poke at them, try picking them up. When you have shown him how to hold the chopsticks, switch to a pencil hold it the same way and have him move the corn flakes ( putting the pencil behind the flake ) around the paper plate leaving a pencil trail. This worked wonders for my youngest son.

Answer 4

I bought my little guy a special pencil grip.  

It is round on the top and indented on the sides.  It cost me about four dollars at the teacher supply store.  It's the best investment I ever made!  

After using it for about a month, he has had a perfect grip.  It has been three years now, and I am always impressed with how he holds his pencil.

Answer 5

Four years old is still pretty little--since his other fine motor skills are excellent, I wouldn't freak out.  Does he like to draw and/or paint?  If he does, encourage him to do so, since he'll be more willing to develop a grip that facilitates his artistic creations.  If he doesn't like to draw or paint, don't push him; however, try finding various forms of drawing/painting that might appeal to him more--a coloring book with his favorite characters, for instance.

As for tips to help him with his grip: always have him use large writing utensils--those oversized pencils and crayons.  Markers are also good for this.  These will be more comfortable for him to practice with.  Also, look for some of those rubber pencil grips that you can slide onto pencils.  You can find them at Walmart or any office supply store.  They are shaped to help keep the fingers in the proper position, and they make writing more comfortable, too.  I had difficulty holding my pencil when I learned to write, and those helped me a lot.  

Just don't pressure him, or he'll get anxious and may stop wanting to learn to write altogether.  Try to make it fun--write and draw with him.  Finish each other's pictures and words, and use the big pencils or pencil grips together and "check up" on each other's grip. (Mess yours up on purpose so that he can point it out to you and "help" you fix it.  Teaching is one of the best ways to learn.)  Hope that helps!

Answer 6

l8ybugn, my son is now in kindergarden and he's still improving on how to hold it correctly. What's helping him is that we practice almost everyday.Try holding his hand with yours while drawing or writing. My brother still holds the pencil different than others and he's 17. sometimes it is more comfortable for them to hold it like that. but with your help and guidancefrm u and the school he will get better.

Answer 7

Let him hold it the way he wants to. Don't make the mistake of forcing him to hold it the way you want him to hold it. Allow him to grow naturally. At four he is just learning to hold things. A little later, maybe one or two years down the line you could guide him gently. Don't get too worked up about it right now. His bones are very tender now and you may do too much damage than good by forcing things at this stage.

Answer 8

leave him alone ,it will  come to him

Answer 9

At four years old he should be holding a pencil correctly.  That means either holding it with a "tripod" grasp or a "quadropod" grasp.  A tripod grasp is preferred and most common.  Teach him this phrase "Thumb is bent, pointer points to the tip, tall man uses his side.  Tuck the last two fingers in and take them for a ride".  Demonstrate to him the proper grip as you say it and give him a chance to practice every day.  Don't stress him out, just have him practice holding the crayon and coloring 5 minutes or so a day.  Other tricks:

give him very small pieces of broken crayon to color with (it forces a tripod grasp)

Paint with 1/2 Q Tip : does the same thing as above.

Have him write on a vertical surface (chalkboard, wall etc.), that will help with his grasp and if his wrist is popping off of the paper, will pull his wrist back into the right position.  It will also help to strengthen his upper body.

Give him things to play with to strengthen his fingers and hands (playdough, silly putty etc)

Also, nix the pencils and markers for now and avoid any kind of grip.  Using crayon teaches pressure.  Press hard, get dark color; press lightly get lighter shades.  Markers do not do this.  Crayon also produces a kind of drag which helps the child "feel" what he is writing.  There will be plenty of time for markers and pencils later.  Keep in mind too that fat crayons and pencils may be too heavy for him right now.  Before giving him a grip, give him a chance to learn and develop the correct grasp.  I would hold off on any kind of grip until he is in school.

A poor grip is not necessarily the end of the world.  Many people (including myself with a terrible thumb wrap and left handed hook) have succeeded in life, however it may affect the quality and efficiency of his handwriting which could have an impact on his academics in the future.

Answer 10

position his hands correctly on it and see if he holds it. also try the other hand as maybe he is using the wrong hand. he may grip his pencil differently when he gets the hang of it. people always say i hold the pencil completely wierd when i write and my boyfriend writes like upside down. i hate to see how our kids will write.