Help! My child can’t decide which hand to write with!
Left? Or right? Not all children establish a hand preference by age 5.
If a child cannot decide which hand to use it is a big problem. We cannot just force the infant to write with a particular hand; it has to fall into place naturally.
“Play is a natural way to explore motor skills without expectations.”
Starting school is daunting for many children and parents alike. During the first years of schooling, parents want their children to settle in and make friends. Having emotional stability allows a child to enjoy social interaction with spontaneity. After all, if a child is worried about themselves, they cannot focus on social interaction with their peers through play.
Play is a natural way to explore motor skills without any pressure or expectation. Children learn a lot from their classmates this way because, when children play together, they mimic each other’s motor and social skills. While interacting, they develop an increased awareness of their motor coordination.
Handwriting is a progressive skill
While in nursery and reception, the focus is on play, but by the time a child reaches Year One, (ages five to six), they are expected to write both individual letters of the alphabet and be able to spell words. Usually, this is parallel to phonics and early reading skills.
Before a child can focus their brain and body on doing the detailed work of handwriting, they need to play (and so, engage motor coordination) in a way that establishes key areas of development.
But what if your child is struggling and things are not falling into place?
“There is growing evidence that children who did not pass certain developmental miles stones will struggle with handwriting. ”
Developing the brain to write
There is growing evidence that children who did not pass certain developmental miles stones will struggle with handwriting. For example, if they did not roll or crawl as infants, they will not have developed the neurological infrastructure to hold themselves steady when writing. Primitive Reflexes that have not been integrated can cause anomalies in posture, positioning and sitting control. Three reflexes in particular have a strong effect on handwriting:
Asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR)
Symmetrical tonic neck reflex (STNR)
Spinal Galant Reflex
These are reflexes which should be developed when a child learns to crawl or sit up without help, and problems with them may be the root cause behind problems with handwriting and handedness. We need to make sure these are checked first before moving on to addressing problems with handwriting, as they can aid it a great deal.
Reflexes are the foundation level of motor control before the child can organise themselves for an advanced skill such as handwriting. As the main focus of this blog post is a self-help guide for establishing hand dominance, we can jump forward and talk about how you as a parent can help your own child with handwriting. If all the tips and advice do not help, you should reevaluate and talk to us about checking your child's reflexes.
Deciding which hand to use for writing
Using both hands well is called bilateral dexterity. At play, you see this when children use both hands to do a jigsaw puzzle or play with lego. Writing, on the other hand, requires unilateral dexterity – all the focus needs to be on that one hand holding the pencil. The developing brain decides which hand it has the most advanced connections with and will best be able to hold and control a pencil, thus developing the dominant hand for writing.
Often the dominant hand for writing (a fine motor activity) is a progressive skill which follows development of the hand for throwing (a gross motor activity). Although throwing uses bigger muscle groups of the upper arm and shoulder, once these have been established, your child will be predisposed to use that same hand for fine motor coordination and things like handwriting and cutting using scissors.
Activities to help establish handedness
These are the activities I recommend if your child is moving the pencil from one hand to another:
rope turning together, clockwise and anticlockwise
patter-cake songs and clapping games that go across the midline
racket games tennis/ badminton/ darts
writing on a whiteboard/easel (or on an external wall)
Throwing and catching a large ball (beach ball) and catching a smaller tennis ball
Direct help for parents using Bal-A-Vis-X
Bal-A-Vis-X stands for Balance Auditory Vision Exercises (BAVX) and is a two day workshop suitable for parents who want to be proactive in helping their child develop good motor coordination for handwriting and improve their concentration skills.
BAVX involves throwing, catching and bouncing exercises all set to a rhythm. It is very effective in helping many areas of the brain and body develop to the next level of advancement. Children who have poor motor awareness are encouraged to use both hands and understand which side differentiates right from left. Prior to doing BAVX the child may have experienced confusion, not being aware that there is a difference between left and right! When a child experiences difficulties using one hand over the other, there is a natural tendency for preference to fall into place.
Unlike practising handwriting, Bal-A-Vis-X is far removed from studying at a desk. By being a lot like a form of play, it naturally appeals to children’s developing minds. Parents can find they make great strides not only to help their child with handwriting, but also to improve in areas of confidence, concentration and general coordination.
If you would like to participate in the next Two Day London Workshop get in touch.
Dyslexia? Dyspraxia? ADHD? ASD? Speech & Language? Developmental Delay? Anxiety?
Is every school day a struggle? As a parent, you may feel exhausted and on this journey alone. Each year you see the gap getting wider. You need to do something - change the approach, help your child learn for themselves, find a way to turn this around - to help while you can - do this NOW. the first step is free.
About the Author
Usha Patel is a Neurocognitive Therapist and Director at Raviv Practice London. Parents searching to help their suspected/neurodiverse child can get evidence-based solutions with results in as little as 8 weeks. Those in search of jargon-free help can get started straight away.
