Strong handwriting skills have so many benefits for children, with research finding that poor handwriting can affect a child’s speed of learning, which can then in time affect their overall academic performance, affecting their self-esteem and belief in their own skills.

At the Children’s Wellness Centre, we work with Bright Light Education, a tutoring company who provide a range of different and fun educational support groups for children.  They have written the below blog to help support parents/carers in encouraging positive hand writing skills:

Helping your child with their handwriting can be a frustrating process, especially if they have got into bad habits and are finding it a challenge to correct. Here you’ll find information on all aspects of handwriting, from the sitting position to activities to help them master their handwriting.

Top Tips for Handwriting:

1) Sitting Position

Children often find it hard to sit with their back straight and feet on the ground, but this is vital for setting up good handwriting habits. They should not be too close to the table and not too far away; close enough that they can rest their elbows on the table. They should be leaning in towards the table, but all the time keeping their back straight.

2) Paper Position

Here is where so many get it wrong! For right-handed people, the paper should be slightly tilted (30°-45°) so that the top right-hand corner of the paper is higher than the left-hand corner. For left-handed people, the paper should be slightly tilted (30°-45°) so that the top left-hand corner is higher than the right-hand corner. This way, the hand will not touch the writing.

3) Writing Hand

The hand and arm should be underneath the writing. This is the case for both right and left-handed people. There is no reason a left-handed person should use a ‘hook’ position where the hand is above the writing; if their paper is tilted correctly, and their wrist is straight, there is no need for them to move to the ‘hook’ position.

4) Non-Writing Hand

I am forever correcting children’s non-writing hand. This is the hand they love to rest their head on or fidget with something, but, like the sitting position, this hand plays an important role! It should be placed flat on the piece of paper slightly above where they are writing. It serves to hold the paper steady and keep the body in an upright, stable position.

More information about the Creative Writing groups run here by Bright Light Education can be found here