"He Won't Write Anything Down"
To us, a child who will not write is often finding writing hard. It may be the handwriting, the spelling, or getting the ideas down. Ask your child to tell you what they were going to write. Write it down as they talk. Compare it with what they wrote. That is a check we use, not a test.
TL;DR
- To us, a child who will not write is often finding writing hard. It may be the handwriting, the spelling, or getting the ideas down. A child can have trouble in more than one.
- Some children put off the first mark. They sharpen pencils, look for a different pen, or ask for the bathroom. To us, that delay is often a sign the writing is hard, not defiance.
- Ask your child to tell you what they were going to write. Write it down as they talk. Then compare it with what they wrote on their own. That is a check we use, not a test.
- Handwriting, spelling and getting ideas down each get better when taught. Handwriting improves most consistently with handwriting practice; motor work alone has not been shown to improve it.
- In our view, the first step is usually to work out what is hard. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first. Have hearing and vision checked.
Why won't my child write anything?
In our view, writing is very public work at school. It is handed in, marked and compared. To us, a child who will not write is often finding writing hard. It may be the handwriting, the spelling, or getting the ideas down. A child can have trouble in more than one.
Some children put off the first mark. They sharpen pencils, look for a different pen, or ask for the bathroom. To us, that delay is often a sign the writing is hard, not defiance.
When worry is part of it
A child avoiding the page can look like a child who cannot start it. From across a room, the two look the same. They need opposite responses. We hold no study of how to tell them apart. For worry, ask a mental-health professional.
Finding where the writing gets stuck
Ask your child to tell you what they were going to write. Write it down as they talk. Then compare it with what they wrote on their own. That is a check we use, not a test.
Letters and spelling that are not yet automatic compete with the ideas for attention. This is one real reason a child writes less than they know. It is not the only one.
What to check
In our view, the first step is usually to work out what is hard. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first.
Have hearing and vision checked. Does your child's hand often hurt when writing? In our view, tell the teacher, and your child's doctor if it keeps up.
What helps
Handwriting, spelling and getting ideas down each get better when taught. Work on handwriting, spelling and composing side by side. Handwriting improves most consistently with handwriting practice; motor work alone has not been shown to improve it.
Use real tasks, like a note or a list. In our experience, practice that feels like a test gets put off. Stop before your child is tired.
Our page on writing difficulties has more.
When to ask for help
Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.
- Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
- Schoolwork well below what school expects.
- A teacher who raises a concern about learning.
- Extreme upset about schoolwork.
- Complete avoidance of school or learning.
- Hopelessness about learning.
- Sadness or worry that lasts.
- Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
- A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.
Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.
In the classroom
Ask for one answer out loud, then the same answer in writing. Watch what changes.
Grade the ideas apart from the spelling and handwriting. Say which one you are grading.
A short email home: "He tells me far more than he writes. I would like to plan with him and scribe his drafts, for two weeks. Then we can see his writing with the handwriting out of the way."
Key Takeaways
To us, a child who will not write is often finding writing hard. It may be the handwriting, the spelling, or getting the ideas down. A child can have trouble in more than one.
Ask your child to tell you what they were going to write. Write it down as they talk. Then compare it with what they wrote on their own. That is a check we use, not a test.
Handwriting, spelling and getting ideas down each get better when taught. Handwriting improves most consistently with handwriting practice; motor work alone has not been shown to improve it.
In our view, the first step is usually to work out what is hard. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first. Have hearing and vision checked.
Pick one short writing task from tomorrow's homework. Ask for one sentence, not the page. Let your child say the sentence out loud before writing it. Stop when it is written. Notice whether the pencil moves sooner.
”What to do tonightWhat to use next
An overview of processing skills. Our work on each runs alongside reading, spelling or math instruction, not in place of it.
Listening practice, built to run alongside reading and spelling instruction, not in place of it. No study of this program exists, so nothing is claimed for it on reading, spelling, attention or social skills.
Common questions from parents
My child will not write anything. Why?
To us, a child who will not write is often finding writing hard. It may be the handwriting, the spelling, or getting the ideas down. A child can have trouble in more than one. Ask your child to tell you what they were going to write. Write it down as they talk. Then compare it with what they wrote on their own. That is a check we use, not a test.
My child says their hand hurts when writing. What should I do?
Does your child's hand often hurt when writing? In our view, tell the teacher, and your child's doctor if it keeps up. Pain, tiredness, or writing that falls apart after a few lines are worth raising. Keep any hand or finger exercise alongside handwriting practice, not in place of it. Handwriting improves most consistently with handwriting practice; motor work alone has not been shown to improve it.
What can I try at home?
Use real tasks, like a note or a list. In our experience, practice that feels like a test gets put off. Stop before your child is tired.