One of the first basic skills most parents teach their children is writing. Writing isn’t only a skill they can use in school. It’s a skill that they’ll always use throughout their life, from writing resumes to creating journals. Writing is also an important tool they can use for communication.
Thus, it’s only understandable that parents try to teach their kids how to write at the earliest time possible. However, there are mistakes that some may make that could hinder your child’s process of learning to write. This article will go over the common mistakes to avoid when teaching your child how to write and what to do instead to be more helpful to them.
1. Starting Them Too Soon
Most parents don’t want to wait too long when teaching their kids to write. So, they’ll try to force kids by introducing all the alphabet at once and asking them to write each letter. Unfortunately, rushing them to write before they’re even ready will give them a negative impression of writing. Sooner or later, they might also feel that writing is no fun, causing them to groan and complain throughout the process.
Instead of starting them too soon, try to introduce them slowly to the alphabet. There are many fun ways you can slowly introduce your child to the alphabet and the overall concept of writing without overwhelming them. For example, you can teach your child to write using letter races. In this game, the goal is to let each player write a particular letter by following the verbal instructions provided by an adult or, in this case, the parent. Whoever completes the letter first will be awarded treats or snacks of their choice.
Another fun game to introduce your kids to the alphabet is baking letter cookies. Although they’re not really writing the letters by hand, being able to cut the letters using the cookie cutter and decorate them will help them become familiar with the letters. The more they’re familiar with the letters, the easier it’ll be for them to write these down. You can do all fun letter games until such a time when your child is finally ready to get their hands on paper and pencil.
Each child learns at their own time and pace, so never compare your child if he’s learning a little too late or early than the others.
2. Neglecting Motor Skills
As easy as it looks, holding a pencil can be extremely challenging for a child. Forcing them to grip a pencil and write a letter can also be stressful and overwhelming. Instead of focusing on training them to hold a pencil, focus on developing their motor skills in a more fun and playful way.
Letting them play things like puzzles, play dough, colouring crayons, sand play, board games, and building blocks helps develop their hand coordination and gross motor skills, which will prepare them once they need to hold a pencil.
3. Teaching The Letters In Order
Teaching your kids to write the alphabet in order may seem like a great idea, but many teachers actually don’t recommend it. Some of the letters are a lot harder than others, so introducing them to the hardest letters may discourage them from learning the rest.
Preferably, you can start teaching the easiest letters in uppercase format. Pick the letters with straight lines, as they’re the easiest ones to write, followed by the ones with slanted lines, and finish it off with letters with rounded or curved lines. Or if your kids have a short name, you can teach them to write the letters of their name.
4. Using Worksheets Too Soon
Using worksheets may seem like the best idea to help your child learn to write faster, but it may only intimidate them and discourage them from learning along the way. Kids, especially pre-schoolers, shouldn’t be forced to work on worksheets at a young age.
To make the learning process more enjoyable, let them choose which surface they’d like to write on. Perhaps they prefer to write on a whiteboard, chalkboard, or an empty sheet of paper. Or maybe they enjoy writing on pavement or the sand more. Allowing them to write on surfaces they choose will encourage them to continue learning the rest of the letters and numbers before moving them into more serious writing exercises.
5. Being Overly Critical
Avoid being too critical of their outputs when checking your child’s first few writings. Correcting their writings with a red pen will only scare them away from you, or they might refuse to write again for fear of rejection. When correcting their outputs, only choose one to two mistakes to improve, and leave the others to be discussed for the next writing session. For example, you may remind them to start the words with a capital letter. You can ignore the other misspelt words and deal with them later once they’ve mastered the proper capitalisation of words or nouns.
6. Refusing To Help
You might think that helping your child write some letters might make them too dependent and slow down their learning process. But the truth is, children need a skilled writer like you to be their role model and provide examples to copy. So, whenever they have questions or require your assistance in writing or finishing a letter or word, don’t hesitate to help them.
Wrapping Up
Writing isn’t a skill anyone can learn overnight. So, remember to avoid these teaching habits and prepare your kids for their writing journey in the best way possible.
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