Hold the pen properly

[Yourjones]

Hi,

Apparently one way of holding the pen is proper while the other is not. When my daughter holds the color pen in the wrong way, I should

1. Let her know she is holding it in the wrong way because "she is holding it too far from the tip". Is it what native speakers would explain?
2. tell her how she can hold it properly -"move your fingers closer to the tip". Is it right?

Thanks!

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi,

Apparently one way of holding the pen is proper while the other is not. When my daughter holds the color pen in the wrong way, I should

1. Let her know she is holding it in the wrong way because "she is holding it too far from the tip". Is it what native speakers would explain?
2. tell her how she can hold it properly -"move your fingers closer to the tip". Is it right?

Thanks!

You can say "You're holding it too far from the tip", or "You're holding it too far down". You can also ask her to "move your fingers closer to the tip" or "move your fingers further up".

However, if I may venture an opinion, there is no "right" or "proper" way to hold a pen. If she is comfortable holding her pens that way while she writes or draws, then surely it would be better to let her get on with it in her own way. It would be a shame to stifle her creativity by making her more concerned with how she holds the pen than with what she does with it.

 

[Yourjones]

However, if I may venture an opinion, there is no "right" or "proper" way to hold a pen. If she is comfortable holding her pens that way while she writes or draws, then surely it would be better to let her get on with it in her own way. It would be a shame to stifle her creativity by making her more concerned with how she holds the pen than with what she does with it.

Thanks a lots or your help with the English expressions. I totally agree with you and I was only creating a context to make my questions easy to understand.

 

[Tdol]

However, if I may venture an opinion, there is no "right" or "proper" way to hold a pen.

I don't hold my pen 'properly'- I use an extra finger. I have always done this and could not learn how to do it otherwise. I have no idea whether the extra finger is the symptom or the cause of the problem, but I have always struggled with the mechanics of writing with a pen. Fortunately, just about everything can be done with a keyboard nowadays.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't hold my pen 'properly'- I use an extra finger. I have always done this and could not learn how to do it otherwise. I have no idea whether the extra finger is the symptom or the cause of the problem, but I have always struggled with the mechanics of writing with a pen. Fortunately, just about everything can be done with a keyboard nowadays.

Out of curiosity, do you have your index and middle fingers squeezed onto the top of the pen, near the tip? That's how I hold a pen and lots of people don't understand how I can write! Until people started saying anything, I had no idea that most people have their middle finger somewhere else!

 

[MikeNewYork]

I also use three fingers to hold a pen. I am sure I was taught that method. The pen rests between my index finger and middle finger and is stabilized with my thumb. Perhaps it is a sign of genius! :roll: