Weak Pencil Pressure in Children: Play That Builds Hand Strength

In Japan, pencil lead grades are set by a standard, JIS S 6006, which defines 17 grades from the soft 6B to the hard 9H. According to Wikipedia’s article on pencils, the lead is a mix of graphite and clay. More graphite makes it softer and darker, and more clay makes it harder and lighter.

When a child’s writing looks faint, it is natural to wonder whether their pencil pressure is too weak. But the same amount of force gives a very different line with an HB and a 2B. In this post I write about what to check first when writing looks faint, the likely causes of weak pressure, play that builds the right kind of strength, and how to divide practice between paper and apps.

First, check the pencil and the setup

Before thinking about pressure, it is worth looking at the tools and the setup. Sometimes that alone makes the writing darker.

Lead grade. If writing is faint with an HB, try a B or 2B. Softer lead gives a dark line with light force.
Paper and what is underneath. On slippery paper or a very hard writing board, the pencil slides and the line tends to be light.
Table and chair height. As a guide, the feet should rest on the floor or a footrest and the elbows should sit comfortably on the table. If the body is not stable, the fingertips cannot apply force.
The other hand. If the non-writing hand is not holding the paper down, the paper moves and the force slips away.

If any of these makes a difference, the problem was not a lack of strength. The tools or setup just did not suit the child.

Possible causes of weak pressure

If the writing stays faint after changing the tools, these may be the reasons.

Hand strength is still developing. Holding a pencil uses the pinch between thumb and index finger and the small muscles of the hand. In early childhood, these are still growing.
The grip. If the pencil rests lightly on the pads of the fingers instead of the fingertips, or is tilted very flat, force does not reach the tip well. I wrote about how grip develops and the order to teach it in How to Teach Pencil Grip.
Posture. If the back is rounded and the body leans on the table, the shoulders and arms are not stable, and it is hard to control force with the fingertips.
Tiredness or feelings. The child may be tired from writing for a long time, or may lack confidence and write lightly so mistakes show less.

Play that builds control

Rather than handing a child a pencil and saying “press harder,” it helps to spend more time using the hands in play. When told to press harder, children grip the pencil tightly and tire quickly. What matters is not a strong force but being able to adjust just enough force with the fingertips.

Here are some things that can be done at home.

Clay or play dough. Kneading, rolling and pinching off small pieces with the fingertips. It is play that alternates pressing and letting go.
Clothespins. Clipping clothespins around the edge of a piece of card uses the pinch between thumb and index finger. Start with ones that have soft springs.
Peeling stickers. Lifting the edge of a sticker with a fingernail practises fine fingertip force.
Tearing and crumpling paper. Tear newspaper into pieces or crumple it into small balls.
Squeezing sponges and cloths. Squeezing a sponge in the bath or wringing out a wet cloth uses the whole hand.
Coloring firmly with crayons. On a large sheet, color until no white paper shows. Crayons are thicker than pencils and easier to press with.

Whole-body play helps too, even if it seems like a detour. Crawling on hands and knees, hanging from a bar, wiping the floor with a cloth. When the shoulders and arms are stable, the fingertips can focus on fine movements.

With all of these, what matters is that the child enjoys them and keeps going, not that they do them well.

Do writing apps build pencil pressure?

When a child writes on a tablet screen with a finger, pressing harder does not make the line darker. So practice on a screen alone will not build pencil pressure.

Writing on a screen is still good for some things: learning the shapes and stroke order of letters by tracing, carrying a line through to the end, and getting used to writing at all. It prepares the child for writing in ways that are separate from force.

One approach is to learn shapes on the screen as well, and build control of force through paper and play. There is no need to choose one. Going back and forth works well.

When to seek advice

In early childhood, faint writing usually changes as the child grows. Still, if any of the following continues, it is reasonable to ask for advice.

The child says their hand hurts or is tired soon after starting to write.
Using the hands in general, such as doing up buttons, using scissors or holding a spoon, seems hard for their age.
After starting school, the child strongly dislikes writing and finds it hard to keep up in class.

You can ask the child’s preschool or school teacher, a local child health service, or your pediatrician. Occupational therapists are the specialists in how children use their hands.

What BrainDojo Kids can do

BrainDojo Kids is an iPhone and iPad app for ages three to six. Children write on the screen with a finger or stylus to practise letters and numbers. Its courses move through four steps: Trace, Copy, Write and Test.

As I wrote above, writing on a screen does not build pencil pressure itself. What BrainDojo Kids practises is the shape of lines and letters, stroke order, and finishing what you write. For lines before letters there is the First Lines course, and its first four stages are free.

For writing on paper, there is the Tracing sheets tool. It prints worksheets for hiragana, katakana, numbers, the alphabet and more, and the first hiragana sheet is free. A child can learn a shape by tracing it in the app, then write the same letter in pencil on the printed sheet. Try a softer lead or a few minutes of hand play first, and see how the force feels on paper.

In the parent settings there is a daily time limit, on by default at 10 minutes. There are no ads and no account to create. The app is free to start, and a Premium subscription (monthly or yearly) opens all courses and games.

Line practice is covered in Pre-Writing Strokes, and the first session in Getting Started with BrainDojo Kids.