UK doctors says kids struggle to hold pencils due to excessive touchscreen use

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Excessive use of phones and tablets is preventing children's finger muscles from developing sufficiently, making it increasingly hard for them to hold pens and pencils, UK doctors say.

"Children are not coming into school with the hand strength and dexterity they had 10 years ago," said Sally Payne, the head paediatric therapist at the Heart of England foundation NHS Trust in the UK. "Children coming into school are being given a pencil, but are increasingly not be able to hold it because they do not have the fundamental movement skills," said Payne.

"To be able to grip a pencil and move it, you need strong control of the fine muscles in your fingers. Children need lots of opportunity to develop those skills," she said. It's easier to give a child an iPad than encouraging them to do muscle-building play such as building blocks, cutting and sticking, or pulling toys and ropes," Payne said.

Mellissa Prunty, who runs a research clinic at Brunel University London investigating key skills in childhood, including handwriting, said that increasing numbers of children may be developing handwriting late because of an overuse of technology.

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