Your child's handwriting: More than just a pencil grasp.

September 16, 2020
Posted by Dedre Van Wyngaard
- 0 comments

Poor bilateral hand use can influence a child's ability to write neatly.

When we think about handwriting, we immediately think about things like pencil grasp or sitting posture, but what about a child's ability to use both their hands in a coordinated way during writing activities?

Can the inability to use your hands in a coordinated way, influence the way you write, cut, colour, and play? In short, the answer is a resounding YES!

The ability to use both hands during writing or school-related activities is often overlooked when discussing handwriting.

What is Bilateral Coordination and why is it important?

Bilateral coordination is the ability to use both hands in a coordinated way while doing tasks such as cutting with scissors, writing, colouring, pasting with glue, and using a ruler or eraser. A child who struggles with the coordinated use of his/her hands will have difficulty with various activities in the classroom and it will impact their ability to work neatly.

Bilateral coordination is also important for successful execution and participation in activities such as self-care (tying your shoelaces or eating with utensils) and sport and leisure activities (playing sports, riding your bike, or playing with a jump rope).

What does it look like?

Children who struggle with bilateral coordination might present with the following difficulties in the classroom:

do not stabilize the page while writing
difficulty drawing lines and using a ruler
struggle to stabilize the page while using scissors and cutting
struggle to sharpen pencils, using an eraser or a glue stick
difficulty with folding and tearing activities

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Poor Bilateral Integration May Lead To:

Fatigue, frustration and slow work speed.

What can we do?

Encourage gross motor activities and participation in sport.

Encourage fine motor activities and games such as: cutting with scissors, play dough activities, sing a rolling pin and cookie cutters. stencil art, needle point, knitting, threading beads, folding and tearing paper.

What can we do at home?

Household chores is a wonderful way to practice using both hands during activities: hanging washing on a line, wringing out a facecloth, washing dishes, help with baking activities, for example, mixing ingredients, whisking eggs, help with cooking activities such as cutting vegetables, peeling potatoes, and making sandwiches.

These are just a couple of ideas to support the development of bilateral integration or the ability to use both arms while participating in school-related tasks.

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Our Products

The Complete Number Bundle

The product was developed to prevent the reversal of numbers when writing. Aimed at foundation phase learners, this program focuses on teaching the correct method for forming each of the numbers utilizing an animation video and worksheets for consolidation. It includes the story of numbers 1 to 10 as well as a strategy for the prevention of reversal of numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10. Presentation is practical, child-directed, and lots of fun.

Fine Motor Development Activities

The Tricky Fingers fine motor program consists of a series of fine motor activities to develop the muscles of the hand and support development of a dynamic pencil grasp. The program includes printable activities, a video demonstrating the desired finger movements and execution of each activity. The activities are fun, easy to prepare and low cost.

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For more information.

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