The Importance of Keeping Kids Writing with Pens

 

Yes. It is true. Keyboards are the future but handwriting (not only writing with pens but, generally, by hand) has been with us for more than 5000 years.

If you take into consideration that the first type of writing was invented in 3200 BC, you can understand how connected handwriting is with our own nature.

However, today, it feels like kids have lost contact with it. Either they are working on a keyboard, or a touch screen which they tap, sadly, writing with pens belongs to the past.

You know what? This has to change and we have already mentioned the reasons why. But today, we are focusing on kids. Keep reading for some great ways handwriting can help children:

1. No More Distractions

We live in a time of distraction. You are sitting down to do your work or homework and notifications from apps, social media, programs, or even games keep ringing.

When you are sitting down in front of a computer to complete a task, this distraction becomes even stronger. You finish a paragraph of an essay, and you go to Facebook for some scrolling and, without realizing it, you have already watched eight YouTube videos.

With pen and paper, this is much more difficult to happen. Your connection with the computer weakens and you maintain your concentration completing a task. As a result, when a kid switches from typing to writing with pens, their minds can absorb information faster in a distraction-free environment.

So, no more bad grades due to social media!

2. More Creativity

This distraction-free environment does not only promote concentration but also keeps the outer world closed off. You are alone with your pen without any medium for anyone to reach you.

In fact, there is a legion of writers whose habit of writing with pens is a ritual connected with their performance. Quentin Tarantino, Joyce Carol Oates, and Jhumpa Lahiri, among others, say that writing with pens makes their creative juices flow faster and better.

If you think about it, it totally makes sense. When you are writing by hand, you are alone. The only sound that can distract you is that of the pen stroking the paper. You create a whole new world and your creativity reaches maximum levels.

Maybe this could be a great advice for writers too. Not just kids.

Also, there are many other, pen-related ways which can help kids develop their creative skills. Check this post for more.

3. Better Learning and Clarity

When kids read something, they definitely learn it. When they write it, they retain the information.

According to a 2012 study, a kid's brain has parts which are responsible for learning. These parts become more energetic when kids rewrite something or take notes by hand.

Furthermore, the sample of students who just studied or typed words instead of writing them down soon forgot about the right spelling.

When you are writing by hand, the brain remembers the shapes of the letters and it is a more complicated process than mechanically pushing keys on a keyboard. Let alone just tapping a screen.

There is a popular belief that writing with pens sharpens the mind and the memory. Many will say that this is like an outdated technique like the one that suggests that Scrabble strengthens the mind.

However, both of these theories are absolutely true.

According to a recent study, taking notes on paper or writing with pens, in general, helps students understand the concept and develop better memory abilities.

Memory benefits are also cited in other findings in the same research. Even when adults study symbols found in other languages, like in Chinese, and write them down, they enhance their recognition skills and can recall them much more easily.

4. Helps With Spelling Errors

This is huge chapter we are about to open; an enormous benefit that comes with handwriting. Writing with pens helps a child's spelling abilities for a bunch of reasons:

a. There Is No Spellcheck

A tablet or a smartphone can help a lot. These devices come with is a spellchecker, which automatically corrects misspelled words. Evidently, this doesn't help much with learning how to spell.

When writing with pens, you don't get auto-correction nor the red line under a word, and you most likely check a word to see the exact form of it. As a result, you actually learn how to spell it.

Sure, spellcheck does increase productivity and reduces the time you need in order to write a text. However, you will end up making the same mistakes over and over again. And this is definitely not productive.

b. It Helps Kids With Dyslexia

Dyslexia makes it hard for people to string letters together in the proper order.

What can prove quite helpful sometimes is cursive writing in which letters are not all separate. People with dyslexia can remember words as a whole just because the letters are connected with each other.

By typing or tapping, you cannot have cursive. Each letter is separate both when you are writing them down and reading them.

c. No More Shortcuts

In many cases, texting and e-mailing comes with many shortcuts. Words are often replaced with emoticons while acronyms are constantly being developed. Take "ASAP," for example. Or maybe "OMG." They are both just some letters which replace four to three words each.

This does not only make kids forget about words and their spelling but also impacts their communication abilities and the faculty to form a structured sentence.

Maybe this is why older people, sometimes, cannot understand at all what teenagers say.

Pens for Kids

Making kids write with pens is not easy when they are used to a technological environment. They need something to inspire them and make them want to change their habits.

A new pen sounds like a great solution.

Click here and take a look at our latest styles of pens that will make your students want to write by hand. Their brains will thank you later!