Children Are Losing Their Ability To Hold Pencils Due To Technology
by on 04/02/2018 8532
With technology being readily available in this age and time, it’s becoming increasingly common for parents to use this as a way to keep their children happy and distracted. Well, new studies have emerged that further emphasizes how this practice is doing more harm than good to our children.
Children can no longer hold pencils properly
You read that right. Due to being exposed to playing with touchscreen technology like iPads and smartphones instead of activities like colouring books, it has affected our children’s fine motor skills development. What does that mean? It means that our children no longer have the muscular ability to properly hold pencils anymore due to the finger muscles not being strengthened and engaged while they were still toddlers. This results in many kids ending up holding their pencils like “cavemen holding sticks”. So how do we fix this problem? Let us at Motherhood.com.my offer you some tips.
Do NOT Force Your Toddler!
Sure it’s important to learn the proper grip for holding a pencil, however, it is important that you do not force your little one to hold on to the pencil a certain way as that could harm them too! Instead, just let them explore and develop the fine motor skills required on their own.
Encourage Colouring or Drawing
Or basically any other activity that requires holding a pencil or crayon. Colouring books are highly effective in this instance, as they contain various images and it can be rewarding and interesting for your little one to find out how the image will turn out with colour. You can also allow them to use scissors (with proper parental supervision!), which helps them develop their hand strength.
Help Your Child Build Up Relevant Muscles
In order to develop fine motor skills, it requires muscle strength. How do you help your child build up these muscles? It’s simple. Just let babies be babies. Allow them to crawl, climb and push things. Give them space to discover and explore, as well as interact with their surroundings. By doing these types of physical activities, it helps build your baby’s shoulder and arm strength, which in turn helps them with learning to hold pencils too. Toys are also a good way to help build your baby’s motor skills.
With these simple tips, your child will be a pro in no time. Not only would it help your child in the long run, it will also give you and your child more opportunities to bond with one another, instead of having them glued to the screens of phones and tablets. It can also help encourage your child’s creativity and allow them to express themselves more fully.
For more parenting tips and tricks, or to find the best promotions on baby products, visit Motherhood.com.my now!
