Pencil grip

Today a quick post on pencil grip as it is something that we have been working on a lot lately after our eldest son picked up a few bad habits!

Why is pencil grip important?
When a child achieves the tripod grip they are able to control the pencil fully and begin the journey of writing with more ease and control.

There are three stages of pencil grip. First a small baby or child begins with a fist grip holding the pencil with all their fingers. They are able to make large up and down movements and practice pressure.

Next comes the four point grip and many children get stuck on this grip (even to adulthood). This is when a child holds the pencil between four fingers (not the little finger). They have more control and begin to draw circles, curved lines and zigzags.

The third and final grip is the tripod grip. This is the standard adult grip using the thumb, index and middle fingers. In my opinion the transition to this grip is the most complicated and often a child will resort back to the four point grip if they do not receive enough orientation. 

How can you help your child to reach each grip?
Normally the fist and four finger grip come very naturally to babies and young children. The tripod grip may also come without any adult intervention as it has (so far at least) with our youngest son. But to encourage this grip it is important for a child to see their parents writing and holding a pencil. Make a game of it by counting how many fingers can touch the pencil and if an extra one touches any time make a funny noise (this helped our son to become aware of his grip very quickly and with lots of giggles)! We try not to go on about the grip continuously each time, but at the beginning of any writing or drawing session quickly mention it in a fun way to make sure the right fingers get on that pencil!

There are several products that can help a child that may be struggling with the tripod grip (affiliate links below). We have used the pencils and they really helped us.