Importance of Handwriting in Early Childhood

Written By Haley Reinhardt, OTS

Handwriting is an essential skill that plays a key role in early childhood development. It helps children communicate and express their thoughts through written communication and supports fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and cognitive development. In the early years, children learn how to control their hand movements, form letters, and organize their thoughts on paper. While some children pick up handwriting easily, others may face challenges, such as letter formation or fine motor coordination. Fortunately, with the right support, practice, and activities, most children can develop the skills they need to become confident writers. 

Handwriting Development

The mechanics of writing begin to develop at around age one when children start exploring their ability to hold objects and make marks with crayons or markers. At first, they may use a fist grip and move their whole arm to draw. As they grow, their handwriting skills progress in stages, with early milestones including simple strokes, writing their name, and eventually forming more complex letters. By the time children reach school age, they focus on improving legibility and writing speed—skills that are essential for academic success. Handwriting not only helps children express themselves, but it also plays a key role in developing fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and cognitive abilities. However, some children may experience difficulties, including poor posture, motor control issues, and trouble with letter formation. Addressing these difficulties early can help children build the skills they need for writing success throughout their education (Borst, 2021; Lumiere Children’s Therapy, 2017).

Strategies to Improve Handwriting

Here are some ideas to help support your child’s handwriting development, both with and without writing utensils! It's important to mix up different activities to encourage growth, rather than having your child practice writing over and over. Using activity-based approaches, incorporating sensory and motor activities, and encouraging your child to assess their handwriting can make a big difference. This not only helps them improve their skills but also builds confidence and independence as they learn to identify ways to make their writing better (AOTA, n.d.).

  • Use shaving cream, paint, or sand to practice writing letters, numbers, and shapes with your child. This activity can help your child develop the necessary muscle memory and motor control for writing, while also engaging their senses in a playful and less stressful way (Preferred Therapy Toys, 2017). 

  • Use playdough or putty to practice forming letters and numbers with your child. This activity helps your child improve their fine motor control by squeezing and shaping the playdough into letters or numbers, which builds muscles in their hands and fingers that are essential for writing (Mulvahill, 2024). 

  • Use dot paint markers or Q-tips and paint to trace numbers or letters with your child. This activity will help your child develop fine motor control and hand-eye coordination, as they focus on controlling the dot marker to trace the outline number or letter printout. Begin with the dot paint markers as your child can use a palmar grip when learning what letters and numbers look like and move to the Q-tip when practicing a tripod grip (Preferred Therapy Toys, 2017). 

  • Use stickers to place on a letter or number outline with your child. This activity will help your child practice the pincer grasp, which is required for gripping a pencil, in a fun and engaging way. This will also help them identify the letters or numbers before adding the stickers, which supports hand-eye coordination improvement (Mulvahill, 2024).

Tips For Handwriting

  • Posture: Make sure your child maintains good posture by sitting up straight, feet on the floor, and their hips/knees/feet at 90 degrees. When at school or at home, make sure that the chair and desk height are appropriate for them to fulfill the above (The Applicious Teacher, n.d.). 

  • Strengthening: If your child is having a hard time using a tripod grasp or if their hand hurts when writing, try these tips to strengthen their grip. Use tongs to pick up cotton balls to help with your child’s pincer grasp. Put beads in play dough or putty to help strengthen your child’s pincer grasp (The Applicious Teacher, n.d.).

  • Spacing: If your child is having trouble with spacing between words, try using beads or mini marshmallows in between words to help your child visualize the spacing (The OT Toolbox, n.d.). 

  • Grip: Check out this video from a school teacher on how to teach your kids how to hold a pencil using a tripod grip!

Handwriting is a vital skill in early childhood that goes beyond simply writing words on paper. It plays a crucial role in a child’s overall development, helping to strengthen fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and cognitive abilities. As children learn to form letters and numbers, they are also improving their ability to organize thoughts, express themselves, and even succeed academically. While many children naturally progress through handwriting milestones, some may encounter challenges along the way, making it important for parents and educators to provide support through engaging activities. By fostering handwriting skills in a fun and interactive way, children can build confidence and set the foundation for future success in school and beyond. 





References

AOTA. (n.d.). HOT evidence: Handwriting for children & youth 5-21 years. American Occupational Therapy Association. https://www.aota.org/-/media/corporate/files/practice/hot-evidence/cy521-hot-evidence-handwriting.pdf

Brost, H. (2021). How children learn to write. U.S. News. https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/how-children-learn-to-write

Lumiere Children’s Therapy. (2017). Child occupational therapy: Handwriting. Lumiere Children’s Therapy. https://www.lumierechild.com/blog/child-occupational-therapy-handwriting/

Mulvahill, E. (2024). 28 pre-writing activities for preschoolers. We Are Teachers. https://www.weareteachers.com/pre-writing-activities-for-preschoolers/?epik=dj0yJnU9LU5jT0hvY0xhRUszS1NtYmg5R0wxWXBSTHlCeE1oeVomcD0wJm49V2RTQl9ObzNlRGpDVXVhWnRWeTF3dyZ0PUFBQUFBR2RGNU9j

Preferred Therapy Toys. (2017). Pre writing activity ideas to help prepare for kindergarten. Preferred Therapy Toys: Toys Recommended by Pediatric Occupational Therapists. https://www.preferredtherapytoys.com/pre-writing-activity-ideas/

The Apllicious Teacher. (n.d.). Tips from the OT practical tips for teachers. The Applicious Teacher. https://theappliciousteacher.com/tips-from-ot-guest-pos/?epik=dj0yJnU9b19sdnJQa3J6QVNyM0xmRzV6Y3I3MUtmU2tfdDduS1kmcD0wJm49MnNhVHRtS3dxUEE0MVJyUzlUeUpGZyZ0PUFBQUFBR2RGMzYw
The OT Toolbox. (n.d.). Activities to improve handwriting. The OT Toolbox. https://www.theottoolbox.com/handwriting/

Haley Reinhardt, OTS
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