How To Make Your 4-Year-Old Interested In Writing?
Children usually start preschool or kindergarten at the age of 4. So it is when they begin writing letters, numbers, and sometimes three-letter words by the end of the 1st school year. Writing is an integral part of a child’s education; the better they practice in their early years, the better they do their homework and assignments in the long run.
Sometimes when kids start school, 4-year-olds do not show interest in writing, to the extent that they simply say “No” to it.
As a parent, if you are facing such an issue, you first need to figure out that either your 4-year-old is not interested in writing or he cannot do it because of issues like Lack of fine or gross motor skills, inability to grip the pencil, developmental delays or any learning disability.
Also, If you are concerned about health issues, speak to a doctor who could give you the correct diagnosis.
Check out these cute blank handwriting notebooks with Unicorn and Dinosaur theme to attract your little one to start writing.
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Reasons your 4-year-old is not interested in writing:
The following could be the reason why your 4-year-old is not interested in writing.
1- They find writing boring.
Your kid must enjoy learning new letters, numbers, and words at school because of the phonics and poems. But some kids, besides enjoying oral learning, hate to write in notebooks. They simply find tracing, writing, or copying down the words boring. So they just try to avoid it as much as possible.
Solution:
For children who find writing boring and unnecessary, make it fun for them. Buy them crayons, colored pencils, a whiteboard, and markers to make writing more fun and creative. Also, do arts and crafts that involve letters and numbers. For example, make drawings with letters and numbers. This way, the child would get into the habit of writing something daily.
2- They have a problem with sitting for so long.
4-year-olds are usually very active. They can’t sit in a place for a long time. Their lots of energy pushes them to get up, jump and run around. Writing does involve sitting in a place for some time to do it correctly and nicely.
Solution:
If your child does not like to sit in a place for a longer time, then split his writing task into small chunks and ask him to finish every chunk in a specific time and can have a break before the other one starts. You can also play any game or have a small snack break during the break.
Moreover, you can use a sand timer to make your little one sit for some time, and then he can get up or change his position when the sand timer is out.
Click here to buy a cute sand-timer on Amazon.
3- Excessive screen time.
The kids who watch a lot of cartoons or play games, writing can be quite a slow thing for them. Also, if your child has excessive screen time, he would always run from writing or learning so that he gets back to the screen. It can also be the reason for his lost attention during study time.
Solution:
Limit screen time as much as possible, as it is the reason for almost every problem parents have regarding their kids.
4- Some kids (even adults) do not like writing anything.
Everyone is different and has other interests. For example, some adults don’t like writing on paper; they take notes on their smartphones or laptops to remember anything. Just like that, some kids also do not want to write things on paper; instead, they remain happier in oral learning, orally memorizing the spellings, and like to answer orally, not in written form.
Solution:
Just because a kid doesn’t like writing, he can’t really get rid of it. So, you have to find other ways to get him to write.
Do not force such children so much. Because of the pressure, they will become more stubborn.
Again try to be creative with them in all ways so that they write in some way or the other. Whiteboards and color markers are beneficial for such kids.
5-They might be slow writers:
Some children will always write slower. Not everyone works on the same pace.
Some children need frequent breaks due to pain or fatigue in their hands, often because of a tight grip or heavy pressure.
Solution:
In such cases, practice is what makes the child write more quickly. Also, focus on the griping style of the pencil to see if it is not putting pressure on the hand or fingers, making the child slow or tired.
Pencil grippers can be beneficial. Your 4-year-old’s small fingers will feel more comfortable holding the pencil.
Click here to buy pencil grippers on amazon.
6-They might have a learning disorder.
If your child is not interested in writing and does not show any interest while you try to make him write, he probably suffers from a learning disorder. In such a disorder, the child has difficulty recognizing and writing similar letters, reversing numbers, etc.
Solution:
Take your child to the doctor and take about his learning disability. The doctor will further guide you more precisely. Moreover, the teachers at the school can be a great help when a child suffers learning disorder. Extra attention, extra practice, and, most importantly, patience will make the child do good in some years.
Ideas to make your 4-year-old interested in writing:
Here are a few ideas that will help your 4-year-old to become interested in writing.
1-Play family writing games.
As a parent, you must put some effort into improving your child’s writing skills. Playing age-appropriate writing games with the child will help them to take an interest in writing. Moreover, when the child sees everyone around him taking an interest in writing, he will automatically develop an interest in that too.
2- Always start with something of his interest.
To make the child sit and write for some time, start with an activity he likes the most. It can be anything like coloring, singing rhymes, playing a game, etc.
3- Don’t push the child to write.
Pushing, punishing, or strictly forcing the child to write would not help. Instead, it will involve all the crying and drama. Try to convince the child to write something every day but stay moderate.
4- Give a choice but don’t give an option not to write.
Instead of asking the child, “Do you want to write or not?” ask him, “Do you want to write the numbers or the alphabet?”. But do some writing every day to keep the habit of it.
5- Buy him fancy pencils or paper.
Get some fancy pencils, papers, markers, and art supplies to make writing more fun. Kids get attracted to colorful stuff more easily. Also, some drawings, writing, and coloring would conceal what your child does not like to do.
6- Appreciate in front of another close family like other parents or grandparents.
Appreciation and praising a child gives him more confidence. Even if your child agrees to do some writing, mention in front of other close family members that he has written this today so that everyone around him appreciates him.
7- Use a sand timer to make writing a game.
Timers are a great way to help children anticipate and understand time, which is naturally hard for them since they don’t understand the concept. You can use a sand timer to help make writing more fun and like a game. Play with your child, like “let’s see who writes from 1 to 10 when the sand goes all down in the glass.” etc.
Check these sand timers on Amazon
8- Introduce letters that have vertical and horizontal lines.
The best way to start writing letters is to start with the capital ones and introduce the ones with vertical and horizontal lines, such as L, E, I, F, H, T, etc. Then, slowly introduce the letter with curves, such as C, O, Q, D, B, P, etc. End with the letters with slanting lines, like A, N, M, K, V, Z, etc.
Summary:
First, you need to understand that not all kids are the same. If your 4-year-old is not interested in writing, it’s totally common and natural. But at the same time, he cannot avoid writing at all.
So the best thing you can do is to make writing more and more fun for him. Make writing feel like a game. Use sand timers, fancy pencils, pencil grippers, rewards, etc.
Here’s the list of things you can try
