As a parent you might wonder how to build those skills for your child for them to become a writer some day, well I am here to tell you that crayons are a wonderful option and come in versatile shapes and sizes to do just that for your child!
Why I love crayons as an Occupational Therapist
Unlike markers, they provide resistance when your child uses them on the paper, which in turn builds the strength in their hands to gain more control of the utensil and eventually make purposeful marks on the page.
They come in so many shapes and sizes for your child (I am a big fan of the jumbo crayons, and also the egg-shaped crayons for toddlers).
In addition to crayons, other modalities like chalk or colored pencils for older children are a great option that also provide resistance when used on paper.
Here is Eloise pictured with the jumbo crayola crayons exploring with them (you can easily tape paper to your table to secure a surface as I have, or if you have a jumbo roll of paper that works great to attach to your entire table (then no worries about coloring everywhere)!
Tips and developmental insight on grasp
Your child will often explore with either hand during writing/painting/crafts and this is okay! Hand dominance is established typically between 2-4, with a clear preference for either hand between 4-6 years old.
In the above picture, Eloise is demonstrating the first two grasps seen in development for holding a utensil, her left hand is holding in what is called a palmar supinated grasp, commonly seen between the age of 12-15 months. In her right hand (which we are fairly certain is her dominant hand) she is beginning to develop a digital pronate grasp (seen around age 2-3 years old).
"My child doesn't like coloring"-I have often heard this from parents, and no need to worry! There are ways to make coloring fun, through multisensory experiences (try chalk outside on the driveway, on an easel, try window crayons on your windows or sliding doors, try coloring with crayons over small items under paper like leaves to make an imprint, trace your child's hand and see if they can color inside the shape).
Children will first scribble, then begin to imitate "pre-writing" strokes, or the precursors to making letters in the following order (vertical line-2 years, horizontal line-2 1/2 years, circle-3 years, plus sign-3 1/2-4 years, square-4 years, left and right diagonal lines-4 1/2 years, an "X"-5 years, and finally a triangle-5 years.)
The younger the child, the shorter their attention span for coloring tasks. Eloise is 15 months and sat for 5 minutes to color which is a long time! Try not to be discouraged if your child loses interest quickly, it is all about exposure at this age, and encouraging them to explore and try new things to build their confidence and promote connections in their brain! To initially gain interest, demonstrate how to color with the crayons, make the crayons make silly noises like animals or cars to gain your child's attention and then watch as they try themselves. As always, have fun and get creative!!