Day 107 - Handwriting Development - BECC Therapists

This post originally appeared on the Burlington Early Childhood Center Therapists' Blog

Image via brightsong.net

Handwriting is a very complex skill that requires a variety of skills. Some of the many skills required include:

• Visual perception
• Memory recall
• Fine motor coordination
• Postural Control
• Eye Hand coordination
• Motor planning
• Midline crossing
• Bilateral coordination

Handwriting not only requires each of these skills, success also requires the ability to pull these skills together and use them simultaneously.The following is a link to a chart that depicts typical timeframes of development for prewriting skills. Keep in mind, this is a “general guideline for reference. All children develop at their own pace and many factors, including anything from medical conditions to motivation, can impact their development.

When Should my Child be Ready to Write Their Name?

It is difficult to put an exact age on when your child should be writing their name, since all children develop at their own pace. The important thing to remember is that pushing them to write letters before they are ready can be counterproductive.

Signs that your child is ready to begin handwriting and letter copying include:

• Able to grasp small things with fingertips
• Able to sit and attend for 3-4 minutes
• Able to imitate and copy simple line strokes including:
• horizontal and vertical lines, a circle, intersecting lines (a cross) and right and left oblique lines.

Keep in mind, without these base skills, or “building blocks” in place, pushing letter writing will not only lead to frustration, it may actually slow their progress toward the goal of writing their name.