Parents magazine: Why Pencil Grip Is Hard for Kids — And How to Help

Developing the right pencil grip for kids is harder than most parents expect. Laura Robinson, an Aya Education special education teacher, came out of retirement and relocated 2,000 miles from Texas to a rural community in South Carolina’s Lowcountry where she’s working with 15 students, ages four and five years old.

How Often Do Kids Have Trouble Holding a Pencil?

Many kids struggle with holding a pencil correctly, which can affect their confidence in school. Fine motor skills develop through hands-on play like coloring, cutting, and building with blocks, which are often replaced by screen time today. Simple activities that parents can do with kids at home (like playing with clay or stringing together beads) can help kids strengthen their hands and improve their grip.

Laura Robinson, a special education teacher for Aya Education with nearly three decades of teaching experience, agrees that it’s common for kids to have not achieved the tripod pencil grip by the time they enter preschool. “Kids at this age tend to hold their writing tool with a four-finger fist grasp.”

Then, between the ages of 4 and 6 years old, some kids start to develop a more mature type of grasp.
“After the age of 5 it is difficult to [correct],” Robinson adds.

Read the full story here.