Has it been hard for your child to present papers to the teachers?

Are you looking for some tips to improve your child’s handwriting?

If your answers to these questions are yes, you are at the right place. Many students feel ashamed to show their notebooks to others because of their illegible handwriting. In this article, we are going to share some of the best tips on how to improve handwriting. But before that, let us gain some knowledge of handwriting.

Reasons for Bad Handwriting

Have your child ever asked you the question, “Why is my handwriting so bad?” Writing requires both fine motor skills and understanding the patterns. Messy handwriting can be a sign of laziness or even a learning disorder. So, it is essential to find out the real reasons for bad handwriting.

Here are the most common reasons for bad handwriting-

• Lack of support from parents and teachers.
• Not practicing writing at all.
• Laziness.
• The practice of writing fast.
• DCD or Dyspraxia that affects motor skills development.
• Dyslexia often makes it difficult for students to understand the patterns of writing and express them in writing.
• A habit of excessive typing or texting.
• Dysgraphia, a learning disability that defines the inability to write in a person.

It is very important to find out the main reason behind a student’s bad handwriting. Parents and teachers are the ones who can help a student find this. It is always good to consult a doctor if a student is showing any signs of disorders like Dyspraxia or Dyslexia. Also, Dysgraphia is another learning disability.

Characteristics of a Good Handwriting

Although there are no standard guidelines for judging handwriting, there are some basic characteristics for handwriting to be good. Here they are:

• Legible – The letters should be easily read
• Fluidity – Speedy writing rhythm.
• Stress-free – There should not be too much pressure on the paper while writing.
• Speed – Quick but efficient writing.

How To Get Better Handwriting

Improving bad handwriting is not an incorrigible task. If you want to get better handwriting for yourself or for your child, it is possible to do so. But you need to have 3 P’s to get yourself started-

• Patience
• Practice
• Perseverance

Let’s learn some magic tips to achieve good handwriting.

7 Tips on How to Improve Handwriting

1. Use the Correct Pen

You must use a pen that doesn’t need much pressure and is easy to hold. The thick barrelled pens allow your fingers to extend and don’t need super-grips are easier to write with. Once you are comfortable with your pen, you can write for long without aching fingers or hands. So, you must choose a pen that helps the letters to flow across the page without any difficulty. You can try using Pilot G2 05 or Faber-Castell Grip Plus Ballpoint Pen.

2. Examine the Shapes and Heights of Your Letters

If you want to get better handwriting, it is important to understand where you are going wrong. In most cases of bad handwriting, the students tend to draw the wrong shapes of the letters. Also, there is a problem with the correct heights of the ascenders and descenders. If you draw a big ascender for the letters with tiny ascenders, then the letter will not be legible. So, you have to first understand the shapes and heights of the letters and then practice the correct ways of writing them.

3. Use Proper Space

It is vital to learn proper spacing in writing. If you do not put proper and even spacing between letters, your handwriting becomes messy. Likewise, you also need to know the spacing between different strokes of letters. Many a time, bad handwriting has no space between the vertical line and loop while writing a small d or p. Besides, even spacing between two lines also makes a huge difference in your writing.

4. Use Handwriting Worksheets or Lined Paper

Handwriting worksheets can help students practice writing the alphabet correct way. The more they practice the better their writing becomes. You can also improve the way write certain letters with these handwriting worksheets. The idea is to examine their handwriting first and find out the letters they write wrongly. Then practice these letters more on lined paper or use a worksheet. You can find many handwriting worksheets here – https://www.education.com/worksheets/handwriting/.

5. Practise Writing More

We all know the proverb – Practice makes a man perfect. So, start writing more than you are doing at present. Write everything you learn while you sit to study. Write down the list of characters or dialogues while watching TV. Also, write the lyrics of the music you are listening to. The main goal is to practice as much writing as you can.

6. Copy Someone else’s Writing

It is always better to copy someone’s writing style if you have no clue how to get better handwriting. Learn the way he or she is writing the letters. The best way to do this is to take a printout of the writing and trace the writing.

7. Slow Down While Practising

You cannot possibly learn to improve your handwriting overnight. So, you need to be slow and patient while practicing. Do not start writing fast at the beginning while you are just trying to learn the style, patterns, or spacing. Give yourself time to learn those and apply them while writing slowly. Once you get used to writing the proper way, you can start writing fast.

We hope our handwriting tips will help you or your child to improve their handwriting. If nothing works out, then you can always take help from a professional. Joining handwriting classes can help you learn how to get better handwriting. But, remember, no matter whatever works for you, you must be willing to give it enough time.