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The Lost Art of Letter Writing
How to Get Your Child
to Pick up a Pen
to Pick up a Pen
By Gina Roberts-Grey, L.C.S.W.
If you think deciphering vanity license plates is challenging, take a look at the letters your child exchanges with his friends. Have you ever tried to interpret his instant or text messages? Between trying to decode the fractured spelling and phonetic paraphrases, his use of the English language is puzzling at best.
Generating Good Grammar
Communication methods have drastically changed in the past 10 years. Many children find sitting down to hand-write a letter an obsolete and inefficient option. They would rather pick up the phone or sit at the computer to communicate instead of writing a letter or card.
Slang phrases, words and spelling have become common practice for today's generation. Due to the nature of limited time and space, instant and text messaging options designed for instantaneous communication and responses promote the use of slang and phrases.
Children don't have to learn or practice penmanship to send e-mail or transmit instant messages or text mail. Instead, they rely on built-in programming options to aid in writing reports. Automatic spelling and grammar checks eliminate the need for kids to apply the skills learned in English and composition class and further promote the extinction of letter writing.
How can you generate enthusiasm for your child to use his grammatically-correct English skills and vocabulary? Creating appealing alternatives to instant communication can be tricky, but are worthwhile for kids to explore. If your child does resist penning a personal, hand-written note, there are a few options to sitting at the computer or using the cell phone to communicate:
Take him shopping for a journal or notebook in which you both can write your ideas, hopes and daily frustrations to share with each other. You'll both gain insight into each other while promoting a penchant for writing.
2. Set an example.
