There is no set age. You’ve probably had a niggle for a while. Teachers may be starting to say your child needs better handwriting. If handwriting speed or legibility is being affected then we’d say now is the time to be concerned. The key consideration is whether your child wishes or is ready to work on it. 

This is tricky. We all know convincing a tween or teen to do something they do not want to do is very difficult. We can advise you to tell them the benefits of having good handwriting for their grades. How writing is important for life after school. Or suggest you give them real-world examples where neat handwriting is valued. You’ve probably tried this. Any handwriting practice for teenagers must improve their writing and confidence. It should encourage them to try. Once they see the real changes, they’ll want to improve their writing. You won’t need to motivate them.

Handwriting is a complex skill. We often forget its details. There is no one area that is always a problem. Working on letter size can really help legibility. It’s not a good approach to try to improve writing speed when the formation isn’t there yet.

Unfortunately, yes. Teachers are often good at guessing handwriting. This is because they have taught a lesson to your child. They know the topic inside and out. They have an advantage over an examiner. They expect to see the topic words in the writing. Exam board markers do not have this inside knowledge. They mark a lot of scripts in a short amount of time. The exam boards admit that poor writing can lower grades. 

The advice for this is the same regardless of your child’s age. Handwriting practice for teenagers should be 5 to 10 minutes a day. The best way to improve handwriting is to practice often. It will help create new writing habits. Transforming these habits into muscle memory. 

Yes, any handwriting practice for teenagers must suit your child’s age. We know these are difficult to find, which is why we created our own. Activities must engage them and teach the right techniques. One tip, avoid buying books with lined handwriting paper. The lines are too big and are for younger writers. If your child needs special lined paper, we can provide this for them. 

No, it is never too late. As mentioned above, the brain is always learning and adapting. As we get older, it can take us longer to learn new skills. It is all possible. What matters is how set people’s handwriting habits are. This is why choosing the right handwriting practice for teenagers is so important. 

Another key point about handwriting practice for teenagers is the style of writing. In our experience, many Year 7 students no longer wish to write in the cursive style. This is the writing style with a lead-in stroke. It can be helpful to write joined up as it has a slight increase in speed. We prefer readable writing. It’s better than trying to use cursive to save a nanosecond.

The length of time to practice does not differ. Yet, the techniques do. For instance, the angle of the paper and pen choice matter. Also, how some numbers and letters are formed can make a big difference.