How to Teach Your Toddler to Write

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toddler writing

When you really think about it, the fact that children learn a language, learn how to speak, and learn to write in such a short amount of time is extraordinary. As parents and caregivers and educators, we all want to encourage our children to learn the skills they will need for a lifetime, but many of us don’t necessarily think a lot about how those skills develop—or at what age we can encourage our children to start learning skills like how to write.

When Do Children Learn to Write?

We might think that children don’t really learn how to write until they approach kindergarten age, but a 2017 research study uncovered some interesting findings that show otherwise. The study, published in the journal Child Development, showed that children actually start to learn writing skills as early as age three.

Previously, child development experts had assumed that children learned how to write only once they learned what sounds each letter represented. So, for example, once a child learned what “A” sounds like, they could connect that sound to a letter and from there, start to write the letters that are representing sounds.

Study co-author Rebecca Treiman, PhD, a professor of psychological and brain sciences, says her research shows that children actually display knowledge about the formulas of written language, such as which letters are usually grouped together before they learn what those letters actually represent.

Resource:

https://www.verywellfamily.com/teaching-children-to-write-4148450