The Psychology of the Handwriting of the Child

By Felix Klein

Periods of Childhood: In the development of the child, we will divide the time into different periods according to his possible achievements and developments.

• The first year
• 2 years to 4 years
• 5 years to 8 years
• 9 years to 13 years
• 14 years to 19 years

What do we know about a newborn?

Many books have been written, and many people have spent a lifetime trying to understand a newborn child. Many a mother has looked at her crying child and listens, to be able to interpret the sounds the child is making.

A famous Broadway actress of the fifties, Honey McKenzie, became well-known for her study of baby cries and the way she imitated them. I was fortunate to hear her do them, and from her imitations, it was quickly possible to understand the particular need of the child. A mother learns this also.

The crying is the child’s language. The crying for food is different from the crying of fear. It may not be so different from the crying of general discomfort. The crying is a form of expression. These expressions are completely basic, particularly designed to let the person that is responsible for his well-being know what he wants.

The first positive reaction to the outside world is the smile. This happens as soon as the child is able to focus his eyes sufficiently to recognize the face that takes care of him.

The first two months of the baby’s life are completely passive from the point of the psyche. A momentary reaction can only be achieved by the strongest stimulus.

In the third month, we see the first psychic activity in the observation and recognition of objects. Things and people are now being actively acknowledged, and disturbances are being actively rejected. The world around him takes on shape, and his own function is being formed through his own activities.

The second half of the first year finds the baby with activities through new impulses and aims by touching objects. He establishes contact with the people around him by his smile and his stammering. So he learns how to manipulate objects and how to get people to react to him. At the age of nine months, the child may be able to crawl, and his ability to grasp and manipulate objects improves. He has become increasingly aware of the social world by learning to say “no.”

At one year, there is a distinct slowing down of the development. At this age, there is more of the social development which adds to his self-confidence. He enjoys an audience. How comes the time where he learns to walk. His motoric abilities improve.

The age of two finds him understanding most everything and able to express himself, particularly when he wants to express his wishes although his demands are not quite as strong as they were.

The age of two and a half finds the child already making attempts to scribble, particularly if so directed. It is good for a parent to know that this is a time when the child does things contrary to what the parents expect. The child is inflexible. He wants what he wants when he wants it. It is the age of extremes; it is the age of learning willpower; it is the age where conflicts become the daily routine. It is also the age of perseverance. The child wants to go on doing things even from one day to the next. Patience is needed for this time, and only when he turns three, things quiet down. He becomes more flexible; he learns the word “we,” not only “I.” Not everything has to be done his way. He becomes more socially minded, likes to make friends. The increase of his ability to use language helps.

And then three and a half again brings a difficult period where the child becomes unsure of himself, where tension sets in and may cause all kinds of reactions, like stuttering, blinking of the eyes, biting his nails or picking his nose, etc. And his relationship to others gets affected also.

And then the four-year-old, all you can say about out of bounds. He hits, he kicks, he throws stones, he breaks things, and he runs away. And the language! He uses words that you would not know where he got them from. He seems to enjoy them, even if they are inappropriate. There is a need to restrict the four-year-old; the question is: how much? Not too much. He has to be given a chance to test himself. At five and a half, they show further improvement or their controls. This is often expressed in their drawings.

The age of five is a blessing. The child is not unpredictable. The mother becomes the center of the world. He now knows his limits, and he only tries to do what he knows he can accomplish.

The age of six is tumultuous. The parents find that the child is difficult to deal with. One minute he loves you, and the next he hates you. The mother is not the center of the world anymore. Much goes wrong because he is too demanding. His responses to others become extremely negative. He needs to be praised. He is having a difficult time within himself, and a lot is being done for him by realizing just that.

At seven, there is a tendency to withdraw. He has calmed down, and he is easier to live with. He now likes to be alone and he wants a room of his own. He is exploring with his mind and with his hands. The tendency is to feel that people are against him.

At eight, the time of withdrawal is over. The eight-year-old goes out to meet the world. Now he overestimates his abilities. He is constantly busy and active, trying new things and making new friends. He is not only interested in how others treat him but also in the relationship with others. At the age of eight, we are getting the first real glimpse of what he will be like later.

At nine, he will be more quiet, more within himself. Often the friends seem to be more important than the family. And their opinion too. Nine is a year of complaining, also of rebellion, and some do it by withdrawal.

Ten is the year of “yes.” He has a good relationship with his parents and he tends to be satisfied with the world. Eleven, twelve, and thirteen mark the preparation and the start of puberty. The changes in the body cause changes in the emotional behavior. It is not true that a boy becomes a man at the age of thirteen and a girl becomes a woman. The maturing process is a long one. The age of puberty is a critical age indeed. The age of finding a place in the world, the age of finding himself. No attempt will be made to go into the problems of the adolescent. This subject must be treated separately. Even for this period of the growing process, the deep knowledge of the child is essential. Without it, the teenager and his problems cannot be understood.

Why Children Scribble

In her book, “What Children Scribble and Why,” Rhoda Kellogg, a Supervisor at the Golden Gate Nursery School in San Francisco, has made a study based on thousands of samples of children’s scribbles. She says: “Children’s scribbles have become meaningful or meaningless, depending upon the adult who is considering them. As a means of communication between the child and adult, scribbling is not yet too satisfactory, just as art is proverbial—for, a child can draw and look at art before he can speak. We are fully consciously and unconsciously affected by lines, marks, symbols, smeared smudges, shapes, light and shadows, and all concrete forms in the arts.”

According to Herbert Read, art is “mankind’s effort to achieve integration with the forms of the physical universe and the organic rhythm of life.” In art, we use terms like impressionistic, non-objective, surrealistic, cubist, and many more. For the art of the preschool child, we do not have a general vocabulary.

The adult’s mind so controls the eye’s interpretation of marks on the paper that the observer can record what he sees only in words that make sense to himself and his followers. We classify, analyze, and interpret children’s drawings too heavily in the observer’s imagination. The adult is unaware of his lack of capacity to observe objectively. The eye is controlled by the brain and records what it sees only according to mental systems recorded in brain cells, as learned memories. The child’s eye and brain are in the process of being trained; that is, of interpreting back and forth from eye to brain, that such guide such a mark is a square or a “house” and another is a circle or a “ball.” We cannot know what the child sees.

The concept is advanced that the child draws what he knows, not what he sees. Read says that the child has “no bases in immediate visual experience.” The chances are that “the preschool child draws what his eyes have seen many times before on his own scribbled paper.” If this is true, then the child’s visual experience in relation to his own drawing does influence his further work. The child draws what he sees in his own work, but the structural aspect of scribbling is “lost” to the adult. It is during the two- and three-year-old work of the child that he acquires most of the basic structural images with which he works from then on, as a child and as an adult. The very young child does not draw reality objects, and this is disturbing to adults.

If the great significance of preschool art is the potential value as a means of better communication between children and adults, then, to understand what these scribblings mean, to read their works objectively, there must be a method or system for analyzing preschool scribblings and drawings, and these must be applicable to any and all groups of children. Studies have shown, says Hilde Eng, that children’s drawings have taken the same course in their main outline in all countries. To come up with common denominators, some 100,000 pieces of work were studied. These include markings with fingers, crayons, or brush as creative expressions. The adult should never treat these as junk. The effect is belittling to the child as well as to his work.

How do we apply this to graphology? We say that our writing is like writing. If so, when did this learning process first start? We must go back further than when the child first went to school and start to interpret his first scrawls. Rhoda Kellogg had first sorted out the various scribbles into 20 basic scribbles.

Looking at these 20 basics graphologically, we can see at a glance all the elements found in our handwriting. These are the scribblings from two to four and a half years. As the powers of coordination improve, the child builds on these 20 basics to form six basic diagrams. This is usually achieved by the age of three.

The six diagrams include:

1. The Greek cross (from scribbles 2 & 3)
2. The square and rectangle (from scribbles 2 & 3)
3. The circle and oval (from scribble 5)
4. The triangle (from scribbles 2, 3 & 4)
5. The odd shape (from scribbles 10 & 11)
6. The diagonal cross (from scribble 4)

The child goes from the diagrams to include scribbles. Then to Combines:

The child advances to Aggregates, simple and mixed.

The mentally retarded child at a much older age has never advanced beyond the simple aggregates. As the child’s kinetic ability improves along with various muscle groups and with the increased extend of his attention span, he normally advances to achieve from the basics(20), to diagrams, to Combines and aggregates, from which a multitude of shapes can evolve, using the various basics, diagrams, and mixed aggregates. This level should be achieved between one and four years.

“Mandala,” means magic circle, which has been divided into either four or eight parts by lines radiating from the center. From this evolves the sun, then the face figure.

From an abstract circle, a human face is developed from which legs, feet, and arms are added, and later the torso is incorporated, also definite details, as hair, teeth, and others. Flowers, houses, and outward reality seem to take on meaning in the form of boats, cars, airplanes, animals, houses with humans, and various mixtures. The author has not made an attempt to associate these designs with the growth and development of the learning process per se. From the view of the graphologist, it seems obvious that all the basic elements of our writing are already in the first 20 basics.

It is important for the adult to remember not to interpret what he thinks the child is drawing. Let the child express himself as the images appear to him. There is a close relationship between scribbles of children from all lands. For the graphologist, it might be worthy of consideration to follow these early efforts and see how personality develops and what brings about harmony or disharmony.

Very often a child, not yet of school age, will answer the question: “Can you write?” with yes. After they have been provided with the necessary material, they will proceed in producing scribbles. The scribble #1 is from a 4-½-year-old boy, and #2 is from his 5½-year-old sister.

Sample #1: The boy first framed it with a line which is not too straight due to his lack of writing skill. He then continued by putting in the middle of the writing space a maze of criss-cross lines with great speed. The writing instrument was handled with such pressure that the paper was torn in places. The criss-cross lines are connected by sharp angles. Other writing tests with this child produced similar results. The graphological interpretation is: His thoughts are concentrated on what he wants to do. He divides the space according to a plan. His motion impulse is intensive. The movement in itself is forceful, rather jerky than gliding. According to the arrangement, he is capable of deliberation. He has a sense for the distribution of space, and he has a desire for expression. According to the pressure and the speed of movement, emphasis and liveliness. The jerky strokes, always portraying an urgency in moving ahead, and the criss-cross lines reveal passionate impulses that seem to have a disturbing effect on his quiet and smooth activities and in finding his proper place. Even with such a primitive writing product, we have been able to define the developing character sufficiently, so that the pedagogue and the psychologist should have it easy to find the proper guiding principles for the upbringing of the boy.

Sample #2:

The girl used the pencil with a light, almost floating, and slow movement, producing soft lines all over the paper. This writing image seems to express delicacy and uncleanness. Through the aimlessly moving strokes, we see a lack of planned concentration. The delicacy of the strokes indicates psychic delicacy, sensitiveness, and little energy. The slowness and softness of the writing movement indicate indecision and impressionability. The wildly extending strokes indicate imagination.

To summarize: the above indicators create a picture of a delicate child with a lively imagination, a child who is impressionable and open to influences, poorly equipped for the struggle of existence. Only an appropriate training of her willpower would help in this respect.

The boy, however, has a sufficient amount of self-assertion, almost too much of it, possibly constituting a danger to the harmony of living with other people. As far as he is concerned, his upbringing must concern itself with the channeling of his willpower into a productive work pattern.

The above-mentioned analyses of the two scribbling samples were found extremely accurate by the parents of the children.

Tables for Children’s Graphology

Upper Zone: The Zone of the spirit, the intellect, and the mind.

Middle Zone: Should be seen as the zone between the upper and lower zones, between the mind and the instinct. It is the “personal” zone, the zone of the soul, and the zone that shows how the writer feels about himself.

Lower Zone: With the child, also the erotic, materialistic, and sexual zone.

In the analysis of children’s handwriting, the division of all the indicators into three picture groups is essential.

I. Picture of Movement: The picture of the movement is of greatest importance for children’s graphology. Unknowingly, the child expresses his temperament, his moods, and his inner controls. In comparison to the handwriting of grown-ups, the handwriting of the child is more dynamic, less inhibited as far as the movement is concerned.

A. Indicators of Movement:

1. Large – Small:
   • The absolute height for children’s writings is the same as for grown-ups, 3mm for the height of the middle zone letters.
   • The tendency of the child is to write larger in earlier stages of development in line with the fact that control is needed to reduce the size of the writing.
   • Distinguish between genuine and artificial height.

   Large Writing (more than 12mm long letters, more than 3mm middle zone letters):

   • Indications: Clumsiness, seeking of contact, optimism, extraversion, childish carelessness.

   Large Artificial (disproportionate) Writing in Adolescent Age Group:

   • Indicates often a search for their own “thing.”
   • Extreme differences in size can be an indication of difficulties with vision.

   Small Writing (long letters 6mm or below):

   • Indications: Reflective type, tendency to keep distance, sense for critical analysis, introversion, commencing self-critique, pettiness, inferiority complex.
2. Speed – Slowness:
   • The handwriting of even a very lively child will show signs of slowness as long as the process of achieving a high degree of writing agility is not completed.

   Signs of Speed:

   • Right slant, slim forms, i-dots to the right, wideness, extended final strokes, increased width of curvy writing, comma-like left margin.
   • Indications: Liveliness, eagerness, alertness.

   Too Speedy:

   • Combined but indistinct forms, neglect of forms, omission of important parts of letters.
   • Indications: Superficiality, haste, impatience.

   Signs of Slowness:

   • Lack of drive, slow mentality.

   Extreme Slowness:

   • Indications: Mental heaviness to mental retardation.
3. Wide – Narrow:
   • The width (wideness) is the relation of the height to the distance between downstrokes of the middle zone letters.

   Wide Writing:

   • Mostly a spontaneous expression of the child’s conduct.
   • Indications: Lack of self-consciousness, readiness for experiences, openness, receptiveness, cheerfulness, sociability, brightness, spirit of enterprise, uninhibited, imagination.
   • Emphasized Widening can be an indication of pretentious self-importance.

   Narrowness

   • Indications: Often upbringing too strict, inhibition, self-consciousness, self-control, reflectiveness (inside child, often shy to contact and touch), hypersensitivity.
4. Light Pressure – Heavy Pressure:
   • Heavy pressure in a child’s writing often results from a tense gripping of the writing instrument.
   • Usually produces an uneven pressure.
   • If combined with a rhythmic movement, it indicates vitality and willpower.

Displaced Pressure: Particularly along the baseline, it is an indication of tension, distrust, early-developed sensuousness (particularly in the age of puberty).

Distinct spotty pressure (or swell strokes) in puberty indicates inner disturbances due to hormonal changes.

Light Pressure Indicates:

• Agility,
• Delicacy of feeling,
• High sensitivity,
• Indecision,
• Unsteadiness.

Heavy Pressure Indicates: General weak vitality, lack of energy, oversensitivity. In combination with falling word endings or descending lines or both, it could be a warning signal for an inability to cope with reality.

Connectedness-Disconnectedness

The degree of connectedness indicates the train of thoughts. To the normal child, the connection of a few letters is no problem. Even in the handwriting of a child, it can be observed that the capital letter stands separated from the rest of the word. This should not be regarded as a form of disconnection, only if the disconnections also occur frequently in the middle of the words. Good connectedness, like with grown-ups, means an ability for flowing oral expression. With the increase of writing agility, the child finds original letter combinations.

Complete disconnectedness does not occur in the handwriting of a normal child. However, large spaces between words are indicative of an unwillingness for contact with others. Inability to connect or constant separate connective strokes must be regarded as a sign of low intelligence and poor memory. Strong disconnectedness in the writing of teenagers often indicates an unwillingness for logical thinking, a lack of understanding of mathematical principles, but often artistic tendencies.

Pastosity-Sharpness

Pastosity is something to be expected in the writing of a child. It indicates a natural way of talking to others and readiness for perception. Heavy pastosity bordering on smeariness is an indicator of “body malfunctions.” Constantly increasing pastosity can be an indicator of the beginning of sickness.

Sharpness is rare in children’s writings. In the writings of youth, it indicates a preference for reasoning, self-discipline, ability for abstract thinking, but also a sense of cleanliness and order. If combined with lack of pressure: delicacy of feeling. The stroke in itself must be examined very carefully. The type of stroke does not undergo changes. It remains the same from the pre-school scribble to old age.

Picture of Form: The picture of form can only manifest itself after the mechanical difficulties have been overcome and the writing act has become more or less automatic. Only then can we expect to find what a child is suited for or where his talents are. It is quite natural for one child to establish his original form earlier than another. The writing agility is not the only criterion. The progress of emotional development is another.

Connections: A true garland will not appear in a child’s writing before the child acquires an individual style of his own. The type of movement the writing of a garland requires is very basic to the child. Tests have shown that 85% of the children prefer the garland movement over the arcade movement.

Arcade: The basic movement of the arcade is more or less away from the “you,” particularly when you look at the end of it. This kind of attitude in a child is contrary to the basic goals in the upbringing of a child. If an arcade appears at an early age, it can be assumed that the child feels pressure from his immediate surroundings. Many of these cases will show other signs of closed-up tendencies or even signs of lying.

Angles: In the writing of children, unusual angles usually indicate a refusal or inability to adapt themselves. A child of such a description usually needs a “stronger hand.” Softness will be “used” and most likely laughed at. Emphasized angles where curves are expected are an indication of stubbornness.

Thread: Thread is not rare in children’s writings. Generally, it is the acceptance of the wishes of the grown-ups that will be the indication there. A very distinct thread connection over a number of years should be regarded as a warning signal for things to come. In the handwriting of teenagers, the thread often indicates increased activities and a strong desire for things to happen. Also, the willingness “to take things in” without proper consideration of the possible consequences.

Fullness-Meagerness: Fullness can often be observed in bulgy loops, indicating a need for communication and expression. Combined with slowness, it should be regarded as a sign of playful procrastination. Fullness in the middle zone indicates a child with a reserve of strength; usually, efforts do not have to be great to achieve results. The overemphasis of the ego will be seen in the fullness of the middle zone. Upper zone fullness should indicate a capacity for illusions and fantasies. Fullness in the lower loops would show the strong connection the child has to the past, also fantasy about it.

Meagerness, as seen in the loops and narrowness of the curves, would be an indication of emotional inhibitions, fear, shyness, self-consciousness, and a child that is difficult to reach. Meagerness in the writings of teenagers can indicate clear, abstract, and critical thinking.

Embellishments-Simplifications: Embellishments will often show up in the initial or endstroke. Completely embellished letters are often due to efforts of a group of youngsters in one class wanting to attract attention. This seems to be the case more often with girls than with boys. In such a case, it can be deduced that a need to be admired is already present. Vanity plays a part here also. The tiny scrutiny of such forms is highly necessary to determine the degree of originality and gentleness of form. If you should find a sample where the capitals are playfully embellished while the middle zone letters are neglected, this should be an indication that the child has difficulty in concentrating.

Simplifications: Simplifications, as we see in the writings of grown-ups, are not expected to appear in a child’s writing until the child has reached an age where writing becomes “automatic.” Such simplifications indicate a sense for the essential, sense for efficiency, intellectualism, also good taste, and a sense for style. The neglect of forms exists in children’s writing also and can mostly be found in the writing of teenagers. The indications then are: carelessness, superficiality, love for comfort, impatience, and unreliability. There are such cases where depressive tendencies and fatigue can be deduced.

The picture of space

Regularity-Irregularity: Achievement, which also depends largely on writing skill. Once that writing skill is established, the child’s character and attitude will determine the degree of regularity. The regularity achieved through extreme care and slowness should not find you in interpreting the regularity at all. A child with good writing agility and regularity in his writing has learned to fulfill his obligations. It does not occur too often that children get to rigid regularity. If they do, it usually is an indication that they do not want to reveal themselves or that they even want to disguise their feelings.

Irregularity: It is necessary to determine the degree of writing agility before judging the irregularity as a character trait. Generally, irregularity is an indication that the child is easily distracted and easily influenced. There are extreme cases where the child disregards every rule of regularity, showing that there are emotional difficulties, often due to outside changes or resistance to the values of the educator.

Slant

It has been observed that the tendency toward a more upright writing exists even without considering that many school systems advocate a more upright slant. The change in slant results from the development and relationship of the child to the outside world. A natural upright position allows the judgment of an even-tempered child, in combination with slow speed, even phlegmatic and with a lack of initiative. A sudden change to an upright or even left slant is often a sign of insecurity or inhibition. The child is not able to act naturally but rather out of compulsion. Upright and left slant often appears in the writings of teenagers, more in girls than in boys, indicating a desire to be “different,” more sophisticated, or stylish.

Right Slant: Should be regarded as the “normal” slant for a child. This is the child that is open and often says things that are even embarrassing to the grown-ups. With the onset of feelings, the child is unaccustomed to the slant and can undergo changes. An increase in the slant toward the end of the words would be an indication of a temperamental child that wants to have self-control but needs to “let go” once in a while.

Right Trend – Left Trend

Right trend and left trend are not as strong indicators in children as in the writings of grown-ups. It is also to be considered that left-handedness has a definite tendency to produce a left trend. Generally, the indications are the same for children as for grown-ups.

Emphasis on Upper-Lower Length

Upper Length Emphasizing: Indicates agility, receptiveness, sensitivity, active mind.

Lower Length Emphasizing: Indicates a sense for practical things, ability to adjust to the demands of everyday school life.

It is also part of the picture of space to look at the distance between words. Large spaces between words can indicate a sense of clarity, a sense for reality in a very positive writing. In a more negative writing, it would be an indication of laborious thinking and inhibition of expressions. Small spaces between words would indicate, in a positive writing, quick comprehension, ability to concentrate on work. In negative handwriting, it signifies strong dependency.

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