For children younger than five it is important is to look at writing utensils that will help to support their finger and hand development first, before giving them a pencil grip. This is also true for children under six who may have developmental delays. Children initially hold onto their pencil with their whole hand, this is called a gross or palmer pencil grasp. Older children using this grasp have not developed the fine motor skills needed to hold onto their pencil with their fingers. These children need more support to develop their hand and finger control. This can be done by working on their fine motor skills. My book ‘Supporting Pencil Grasp Development’ also provides relevant activities and worksheets. Using this stages of pencil grip poster will help you to see what stage each child is at. You can then spot children who may need some extra help with their pencil grip. You could then try out different methods, like trying different pencils that might be easier to grip. Lastly, for children who have started to hold the pencil with their fingers rather than their whole hand, but who are still struggling to get the correct fingers onto their pencil, a pencil grip can be tried. How do we monitor the pencil grip? Helping parents to understand the pencil grip stages and to give their children support when needed. It is also useful for when a substitute or any other practitioner would be helping in the class, so that children are not forced into a stage when it is not age appropriate or to stimulate or guide a child when they need the support. Has the child’s pencil grasp changed? Or is the child continuing to hold the pencil with their preferred grasp over the grip? This is commonly seen with smaller pencil grips. The child will just put their fingers onto the pencil how they had initially had them. They won’t have their fingers on the pencil grip. This means the grip is not helping!

Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast best option. This is because all children are different and have different needs. Each pencil grip is designed slightly differently and will suit different children. The videos below show pencil grips that we have found to be helpful in a number of cases when working with children who have an immature pencil grasp. What are the pros and cons of available pencil grips? In my opinion, pencil grips should only be considered for children over the age of five who have received some support to develop their pencil grasp already. They should not be the first strategy that is tried for a child who is having difficulty holding onto their pencil. If a child isn't progressing as they should be, then holding a pencil incorrectly could cause them strain when they are writing. Make sure to keep an eye on children's pencil grip and help them if they are not progressing as they should be. What are the different stages of pencil grip?Learning to write is an important life skill. Some individuals find this challenging, and that is where pencil grips can help! Please also see out pencil skills advice sheet for further activity ideas and out fine motor skill advice sheet.

Play dough / Theraputty– rolling, pinching, squeezing, pulling – encouraging him to squeeze together using one hand, retrieving pegs, small objects and placing into a container. Use a rolling pin to roll playdoh flat and cut out shapes using biscuit or animal cutters. This stages of pencil grip poster can be used to help teachers or parents become familiar with the different stages of pencil grip. The poster outlines what each child should be able to do at different ages. The poster starts at 1 years old and works its way up to 7 years old.For children who have an immature pencil grasp, there are many pencil grips available to help. In this post I will use the term ‘grip’ to refer to a moulded grip that has been put onto a pencil. Whereas pencil grasp will be used to indicate the position that the children’s fingers are on the pencil. I will cover Most children naturally develop a pencil grasp that is comfortable for them and a variety of different grasps can be seen in any classroom. A pencil grasp only becomes a problem if the child complains of fatigue, pain in their hand, or has difficulty writing neatly and at a reasonable speed (as compared to their peers). Encourage your child to do lots of fun and interesting drawing and writing activities using different types of pens, coloured pencils, crayons and chalks so they are motivated to practice. Has the child’s handwriting improved? Or does it deteriorate when they use the grip? Initially there might be a slight deterioration as the child gets used to using the grip. However, the quality of their writing should improve over time. KIM: Oh good idea Max. Oh spindles. I'm not very good at drawing teeth. I think I need help holding my pencil.