Pen holding posture affects learning efficiency. Children should pay attention when they start to doodle.

I wonder if you are familiar with the following thing? This is called a pen-holding posture corrector. My pen-holding posture was completely wrong when I was studying, so my parents bought this for me to use. I used it from the first grade to the fifth grade, but it was not corrected at all. Little D has a fine motor rehabilitation therapist. Ever since Little D started graffiti and drawing, she has paid special attention to Little D\’s pen-holding posture at each stage. She told me that there are milestones in a child’s pen-holding posture at each stage. Mastering the standard pen holding posture can greatly improve learning efficiency. By holding the pen in this position, the child will feel the most relaxed and comfortable, and will not be prone to fatigue, so that he or she can focus on learning. Speaking of this, I actually have some feelings about it. I hold the pen in the wrong posture, which makes me write very slowly and get tired easily. At the same time, it was also from the fine motor rehabilitation therapist that I understood why I had never mastered the correct pencil holding posture despite using braces for five years. In fact, it does not solve the problem fundamentally. Using corrective devices is just \”striking an itch\” and is of no use at all. So now I pay special attention to Little D’s pen-holding posture. 1 to 2 years old: Palm grasping When children first grab a crayon, they do not use the crayon grip we adults use when writing, but use the entire hand to grasp the crayon in their fist, as shown in the following two grips. Because at this time, the baby\’s arms and shoulders are not very strong, so this holding method is the easiest to exert force. At this time, children\’s drawing cannot be said to be drawing, but can only be said to be graffiti. They can only draw some random lines and dots, and cannot draw very accurately. If you watch children draw, you will see that they are using their whole shoulders to draw. This process is very necessary. This kind of \”big stroke\” is actually training the strength and stability of the shoulders and upper limbs. How to increase the strength and stability of your shoulders and upper limbs? Climbing before the age of 1 is the best exercise for shoulders and upper limbs, which is why I repeatedly emphasize the importance of climbing. After 1 year old, most children will walk. Children who can walk must not like to crawl. If you find that your child feels unable to exert effort when doodling, you can carry out targeted exercises. 1. The human body stroller has the child in front and the parents behind. Let the child support the ground with both hands and the parents pull the child\’s feet. It feels like we are pushing the child\’s body and the child uses his arms to move forward, just like we are pushing the \”human body\” Same as \”cart\”. 2. Climbing \”scaffolding\” There are many scaffoldings in parks and playgrounds. This kind of game actually changes the \”parallel climbing\” that was missed before into \”vertical climbing\”, and it can also play the same exercise role. You can start with such a low level of difficulty at the beginning and then gradually increase the level of difficulty. 2 to 3 years old, hold palms down. If you give the child enough opportunities to doodle and draw, and as the child develops gross motor skills, the child will begin to use it after the age of 2. The holding method is as shown below. At this time, we will find that although the child still uses the entire hand to hold the pen, it is obvious that her index finger has become the main object of force. This holding method shows that the child\’s arm strength has increased and she has begun to use wrist strength to draw. thisGraffiti at this stage begins to become more purposeful, and children can already draw straight lines, horizontal lines and circles that cannot be completely closed. How to increase wrist strength? The training in the previous stage can still be continued. In addition, you can consider buying a small standing blackboard. The standing posture of doodling will naturally allow children to mobilize more of their wrist strength. 3~4 years old: Four-finger or five-finger grip This stage is a major milestone. When a child begins to have a four-finger or five-finger grip like the picture below, it means that the child\’s wrist strength has gradually increased and they have begun to exercise their finger grip strength. . Children at this stage can already connect two points into a line and draw some very simple (abstract) objects, such as a person, which is a circle (head) and a rectangle (body). How to develop finger grip strength? At this stage, you need to pay attention to training the child\’s single finger strength. Many fine motor rehabilitation therapists will let the child use the water sprayer with one hand. In this way, the child needs to grasp the water sprayer with his hand and use the strength of his index finger to press the water sprayer. This is very good. a form of exercise. Similarly, you can also let your child use a stapler with one hand for the same reason. 4 to 6 years old: After the conventional way of holding a pencil, children will enter our traditional way of holding a pen. The picture below demonstrates the most standard way of holding a pen. At this time, children no longer need to draw so widely. They will stabilize their shoulders, upper arms and wrists and draw almost exclusively with their fingers. At this stage, children\’s painting skills are more refined and they can draw many geometric figures. The little figures they draw have many details, such as limbs, and some even have facial features, fingers or facial expressions. How to improve finger strength? The most important thing at this time is to exercise the flexibility of each finger so that the child can move each single finger freely. At this time, the best way to exercise is to play finger puppet games, or sing some songs that require the use of a single finger, such as the itsy bitsy spider, where is Thumbkin? (you can search it yourself, I have already Sing these songs with Little D to exercise your finger flexibility, and I will demonstrate it to everyone when I have the opportunity to live broadcast in the future). The correct posture of holding a pen is not achieved overnight. It is a gradual development process with the development of gross and fine movements. The purpose of milestones is not to make us blindly anxious, but to give us a sense of certainty and guidance. If we find that the child\’s pen-holding posture is abnormal, we can know what exercises we should help the child do to help the child master the correct way of holding the pen.