Should I correct the way my son holds his crayon?


At two years of age, children do not have the muscle control or coordination to hold their crayons using the correct, “three-finger” grip. Instead, you will find that your son using either a “fisted grasp” (when the crayon is held in a closed fist and the whole arm moves from the shoulder) or a “palmar grasp” (when the crayon is held in a closed fist with the thumb pointing down and the elbow out to the side) when holding a crayon. It is not until children are around four-years-old that they have the fine motor control to hold a crayon using a finger grip. One way to help promote the correct grip is by doing fun activities that will help develop his hand and finger muscles, such as playing with blocks or doing puzzles. 

Jennie Ito, Ph.D.

Child Development Expert

Jennie Ito is a mother of two and a child development consultant who specializes in children’s play and toys. Before becoming a consultant for LeapFrog, she was an intern at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and later worked as a content expert for the Association of Children’s Museum’s “Playing for Keeps” Play Initiative. Jennie earned her doctorate degree in developmental psychology at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.