Therapist's note: Developmental Writing Skills.

Pre-writing and Handwriting Skills: Do we push our little ones too hard? I personally think we do. When it comes to writing skills our preschoolers should be scribbling, coloring, finger painting, drawing in the sand, getting messy, writing in shaving cream... We need to engage in activities with our young children that prepare them for writing, providing them with a foundation rich in sensory motor activities and prerequisite writing skills. So, play with your kids, remembering that they don't have to write their names by age 3 or perfectly print the alphabet by age 4.

Look below at the progression of handwriting. As you think about your kids, remember that the sequence of development is more important than the speed at which they progress!! It is like a child who skips crawling. I see parents thrilled to see their 7 month old walking, but I hesitate to join their celebration knowing that a child NEEDS months of crawling time for reasons such as: weight bearing through their arms is an important part of fine motor development & alternate arm and leg movements in crawling provides a foundation for bilateral motor coordination. The same applies to pre-writing skills, let your kids learn the foundations (eye hand control, grasp patterns, manipulation skills, etc) before progressing to the actual handwriting (letter/number formation).

Pre-Writing Development: This is the typical sequence of development.

Mouths crayon
↓
Scribbles
↓
Horizontal line
↓
Vertical line
↓
Circle
↓
Cross
↓
Diagonal line (left to right)
↓
Square
↓
Diagonal line (right to left)
↓
X
↓
Triangle
↓
Diamond

Handwriting Development:

Scribbles on paper – 10-12 months
Imitates horizontal, vertical, circular marks – 2 years old
Copies vertical, horizontal, and circular marks – 3 years old
Copies cross, right diagonal, square, left diagonal, some numbers/letters, and write own name – 4-5 years old
Copies triangle, print name, copies most lower case & upper case letters – 5-6 years old