Writing is an essential part of our everyday lives. However, it can be a challenging skill to learn and get good at. By starting early with some easy activities, you will be able to help your child start developing their writing skills early in life. This will help contribute to their future progress as a student and teach them to express themselves as they get older.
Why Writing is So Important
Writing is Practical
Each day, we use our writing skills to complete different tasks like writing a letter or filling out a doctor’s form. Tasks like these require that we organize information effectively and write clearly.
Writing is a Crucial Part of Your Child’s Education
Regardless if your child is asked to type on the computer or write by hand, many of their exams and assignments will require them to write out their answers or complete long essays. This assesses what they’ve learned.
When students get older, their writing skills will be expected to be more sophisticated and they will be asked to complete writing tasks that are also more sophisticated. These days, it is now standard for many universities and colleges to expect written essays from students during the admissions application process.
Writing is a Vital Form of Communicating
A common way of staying in touch with family, friends, and professional colleagues is through writing emails and letters. Writing is often the final stage in communicating or to ‘seal the deal’, so to speak such as when we write and sign leases, contracts, documents, and other important paperwork.
Helpful Strategies to Help Your Child Improve Their Writing Skills
- Demonstrate to your child how they can work through issues and find solutions through their writing. If they are bothered by something, you can have them write about it. If there is stress in the family such as not having enough time, being overscheduled, or not having enough money for everything needed, you can have your child write out some possible solutions.
- Encourage frequent writing from your child. Reluctance might happen such as your child saying that they don’t have anything to say. This is a common excuse, so be patient with them. Understand that your child probably doesn’t desire to write as much as you would like them to. This is where the frequency of writing can become a habit.
- When it comes to your child’s school writing efforts, be affirmative, but forgiving. Understand that your child will make errors; however, they will also do many things correctly. Be sure to praise the things they do right. Keeping an optimistic attitude towards your child’s writing efforts will help to strengthen their writing habit.
- Take the time to thoroughly read through your child’s writing and talk about it with them. Again, praise and applaud good writing, regardless if it is a regular daily homework assignment. Motivation comes with a positive audience.
Work with a Writing Analysis Service
In some cases, it could be a good idea to work with a writing analysis service. This will provide your child with professional assistance. Typically, analysts come with writing backgrounds and specialize in education. Their job is to improve your writing (or your child’s in this case).
Most of the time, these professionals will go over your child’s content, grammar, formatting, and how the writing is organized. They will make detailed comments on the work to help improve common errors. Most experts if not all will have many years of tutoring experience. Some even are published authors. By working with writing analysis services, you can feel confident that you are getting only the best insight and help for your child’s writing.
p.s. Related posts:
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Writing for Reluctant Readers by Ty Drago
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A good reminder of how important writing is, useful tips as always Mia – patience is so important
Hi Sonya,
Thanks so much!! Patience is not my strong suit (as my middle daughter informed me yesterday when I wrestled with the tablet computer).
Great article. Writing is very important. My daugther’s writing has improved because she reads more often. I’m amazed at some of the words she knows how to spell and her sentence structure for a 7 year old.
Hi Jackie,
I do love how reading makes kids unconsciously learn about writing and over time, they start to crave good writing (or at least reject or criticize books that they deem to have bad writing). And I totally agree about vocabulary building. That’s especially effective if you can ask them what they think the word means as you read aloud. I think that helps to get a feel for a word.