How do toddlers hold pencils?

[amldaley]

DD is learning to use a pencil.

But she holds it soft and angled like she is sketching instead of writing. This quickly becomes a source of frustration as she can not form letters or play through the maze games she is working on very well. She only hold pencils this way, not crayons.

Is this normal? Should I try to teach her how to hold it properly? (She gets REALLY frustrated when I try to show her how to do something). Will she eventually correct this herself?

[elliput]

Many toddlers start with a gross or whole hand grip, so I think your DD is actually ahead of the curve here.

[maestramommy]

:yeahthat: Until very recently Arwyn was using the hand grip. Just this week I noticed she is using a more correct hold. Although she uses 2 fingers instead of one. Dora does too.