5 Stages of How Writing Develops in Early Childhood
Guide your child through the 5 stages of writing in early childhood.
Writing development begins long before your little one is able to communicate through written language and before pencil meets paper! When your baby reaches for an object, or learns to crawl, they are already developing the visual motor skills and postural stability required for writing. Handwriting is a complex activity, but your toddler is steadily developing the muscles, dexterity and cognitive processing skills they will need to write coherently and legibly.
Children first learn to express themselves on paper through scribbling (Longobardi, 2015). We proudly display their artistic talent on the fridge but those scribbles are an essential part of developing the ability to write. Toddlers go through predictable stages of scribbling. Each stage is a marker for developing fine motor skills, improving hand-eye cordination and the development of the cognitive skills necessary to understand that one thing can represent another - the essence of letters, numbers and words! By providing the right environment and tools for your toddler to explore making their mark, you are supporting them through their pre-handwriting journey.
As a parent or carer, there are certain milestones that you can look out for as you watch your child develop.
Disclaimer: Before we take a look at these milsetones, it’s important to state all timetables mentioned are approximate. Each child is truly unique, they develop at different rates. There is a lot of variability about how and when they will reach these stages and there is often overlap between the stages. Some will achieve certain milestones a little earlier, some a little later. If you have any concerns about your child and their development, we encourage you to reach out to their teacher or health care professional.
Encourage the Curious Child!
A curious child is keen to explore and experiment with the world around them. A child that tunes into that curiosity and can experiment creatively, will link cause and effect and begin to problem solve. When a little one discovers that dragging a crayon across paper makes a mark, they link their own actions to a result and hey presto! - you have the makings of a young writer.
Provide your child with a range of materials and opportunities to experiment with ‘making their mark!’ Make drawing a regular activity. Get excited about their creations and interested in what they produce. Resist the temptation to teach them how to draw, allow them the freedom to explore. Join in, young children model what they see and if you are drawing, or writing, that will peak their interest. Display their art, they will be very proud!
Pencil Grasp Development
Children transition through stages of pencil grasp development as they gain the necessary strength and dexterity. Expecting a toddler to use a mature tripod grip before they are developmentally ready will not only set them up with a poor pencil grasp difficult to change when older but will cause them physical discomfort. Handwriting is a tiring activity but it can become unpleasant if little muscles are asked to maintain a position they are not ready to hold.
Although there are age guides for transitioning from one pencil grasp to the next, it’s important not to get too hung up on timing. It’s common for a child to experiment with various grasps as their wrist, hand and finger strength increases. It may also change depending on what they are holding, a thick crayon or a thin pencil. Just remember, each child will transition when developmentally ready.
The Role of Gross and Fine Motor Skills
Gross motor skills are involved in the movement of arms, legs and large body parts. Efficient control of those larger muscle groups in the neck, shoulders and trunk, underpin the finger and hand stability, essential for writing. Children develop control and stability in these larger muscle groups, closer to the trunk, and then develop stability in muscle groups in elbows, wrists and hands. A baby will clumsily reach for and swat at objects before engaging in a grasping motion and finely in the ability to manipulate an object.
Fine motor skills are developed from gross motor skills and it takes a foundation of varied sensory activities to build strong fine motor skills. For your child to control the writing tool, they need to have developed wrist, hand and finger strength and dexterity. Without reaching these development milestones, your child will struggle to manipulate their crayons and pencils.
15 Months – 2.5 Years.
Random Scribbling
At this stage, your little one is just starting to understand that moving an instrument across a page makes a mark. This action is driven by the large muscles of the shoulder and trunk, and movement is whole body rather than wrist or hand. Initially, the crayon or marker will be grasped in the fist (whole hand) much like a dagger and there is very little control over the movement. They will start to transition to using fingertips and thumb, although their movement is still whole arm.
The markings on the paper are random and there is no pattern or writing intent. Often the bang dot appears on the page, and this can be the first moment a child realises there is a connection between their own action and what they see appear.
This is a time when your toddler is tapping into the sensory experience of the materials used like the feel and smell of the crayon.
What can you do to help at this stage?
Provide as many materials as you can and let the creativity flow! Give a range of options; crayons, markers, pencils, paints and chalk. Let them explore the feeling of different materials in their hands and let them draw on different kinds of surfaces from butchers paper to cardboard to a traditional chalkboard. Give them thicker drawing tools so they can grip them more easily.
2 Years - 3 Years
Controlled Scribbling
As your child is strengthening their gross motor skills their fine motor skills are improving. They have more control over the muscles of their wrists, hands and fingers and so their scribbles become more controlled.
Your toddler is increasingly linking their action to what appears on the paper. The scribbles begin to have intent as they begin to dictate the movement to create the marking. At this stage they will be able to imitate vertical and horizontal lines and they start drawing pictures such as open circles. They begin to draw random lines in a variety of directions that appear to mimic writing. Their creative work is now the product of increasing intention and those scribbles are starting to mean something.
During this stage, as gross motor skills improve, your toddler may begin to hold the writing tool with the palm of the hand facing down towards the paper and held by all the fingers and the thumb, the digital grasp. The movement is now coming from the shoulder and elbow and allowing more control.
What can you do to help at this stage?
Your toddler is producing scribbles with an intended message. Talk to them about what they have drawn and let them tell you all about it! Display their efforts and encourage their creativity.
2.5 - 3.5 Years
Directional Scribble
By now, your toddler realises that marks have meaning and their work has a true message. They begin to work more from left to right, producing lines, shapes, curves and repeated patterns. While they may not produce actual letters or numbers, you may start to recognise the components that make up writing. Your little one may start to tell you that a marking is a word and tell you what it says.
At this stage, your child may discover they can turn a line into an enclosed shape and create a circle. This is a deliberate attempt at a realistic drawing. A circle is rather universal and can be used to represent almost anything like the sun or a flower.
At this stage, fine motor skills are improving and they may begin to transition to holding their writing tool well down the shaft towards the point, using their thumb and first two fingers. Movement is coming from the elbow and wrist allowing them to form lines and circles with greater control and even trace numbers or letters.
What can you do to help at this stage?
Continue to be inquisitive about their drawings. Ask about the colors and what things stand for. Do not ‘teach’ drawing skills at this stage. This is their opportunity to explore and develop their physical and cognitive skills. Let their natural creativity nurture their progress.
3-5 Years
Drawing a Person or Object
Your child begins to really consider what they are about to create. They begin to hold an image in their head and translate that to the paper. Symbolic and imaginative thinking are skills that take time to develop but your little one is starting to use shapes to represent objects and people. They can allocate names to their artwork, labelling what they have created.
Circles and lines initially dominate. This is moment where you may receive your first portrait, a circle with lines directly attached but that head and body is clearly you! They may try to stay within the boundaries of the paper. You may notice they are clearly thinking about where they are going to position their lines and shapes, composing their picture. They can start to add shapes together to create images like a house or a car.
At this stage, your child may try to write by scribbling ‘words’ underneath their creation. They can clearly differentiate between an image and ‘words’.
They may start holding the writing tool in a modified tripod position, holding it with the thumb and index finger and resting it on the knuckle of the middle finger but the hand will be a little more closed than the mature tripod grasp. The movement is coming from the wrist and large finger movements. This allows greater control and finer details like colouring within the lines are easier.
What can you do to help at this stage?
Your child is now becoming an author, writing and illustrating stories. Encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings about their creation. Get them to tell their story.
3-5 Years.
Letter and Word Practice
By now, your child will have experience with the written word. They know those shapes in their favourite story book stand for words, and have meaning. They are all ready forming the basic structure of letters, drawing vertical and horizontal lines, circles and intersecting lines.
At this stage, they are experimenting fully with words of their own, putting ‘pretend’ letters on paper. They start to realise that letters vary in height and width and words are a series of long and short patterns. They will be trying to copy simple familiar letters and typically they begin trying to reproduce the letters found in their name. Although these letters and words won’t be technically correct, your child is understanding that written symbols have meaning.
As your child’s fine motor skills continue to improve, they will be able to trace along a horizontal line, remaining on the line most of the time. They will not have the fine motor skills to trace neatly or trace letters of small size, but large shape and letter tracing activities start to be of interest.
What can you do to help at this stage?
Allow your child the freedom to experiment with forming letters and words, even if it isn’t technically correct. You can introduce line and letter tracing activities but go slowly, be patient, and don’t expect perfection.
If you need a helpful resources consider our Letter Tracing Alphabet Workbook for Kids designed to support writing development in 3-5 year-olds.
Tips to Encourage Writing Development
Make art a regular activity and give plenty of opportunity for your child to experiment and explore with materials and writing tools.
You don’t need fancy materials, simple crayons, markers and butchers paper will be enough to keep your child happily creating masterpieces.
Give them thick crayons, and pencils for a comfortable grip and washable markers so they can scribble freely without constraint.
You can draw anywhere. Take their drawing materials when you go out to a cafe, a park or a friend’s home. Drawing is mobile!
Make it fun! Resist setting tasks and goals. Let your child have the freedom to experiment and scribble in their own time and their own way.
Don’t worry about the end product! It doesn’t matter if the tree is orange, your little one is exploring, not perfecting.
Kids model what they see, so draw and write with them.
Get involved! Show interest in their effort and let them share their creation with you.
Encourage their effort and display their creative works!