Since the beginning of the new school year, every night after her child finishes his homework, Ms. Nguyen Nhat Hong (33 years old, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) sits down with him to "practice beautiful handwriting".

“When my daughter concentrates on writing neatly, her handwriting is quite clear, but after only a few lines, she becomes distracted and wants to put down the pen, complaining that her hand hurts and her neck gets tired. I always have to sit next to her to encourage her. There are many days when we struggle until almost midnight to finish two pages of writing practice,” Ms. Nhat sighed and said that if she doesn’t sit next to her closely to supervise, her daughter will spend the whole day writing.

Many times, the female parent was helpless because her child kept losing focus, not to mention that she had no teaching experience, so it was difficult for her to explain to her child about the width, the beginning and the end of the letters. Seeing that her daughter was making slow progress and she was also tired, Ms. Nhat decided to send her child to a calligraphy training center. However, this solution caused her family to fall into a "cold war".

“When I said I wanted to send my child to a calligraphy center, my husband strongly objected. He said that as long as the handwriting was easy to read, why did it have to be beautiful? Instead of forcing my child to practice writing, I would rather let him play with Lego, draw pictures, and plant trees to develop his brain and personality. But he doesn’t fully understand the benefits of beautiful handwriting,” said Ms. Nhat.

When she was in high school, she was a member of the school's Literature team, so writing quickly and beautifully was very beneficial in exams. Therefore, she always emphasized the idea that practicing handwriting is the first and most important lesson for children from a young age.

She signed up for a basic handwriting course at a center near her home for 3.5 million VND. “Next month, I will send my child to school. My husband was quite angry. After a while of arguing, he declared that I would pay the tuition and take my child to school myself, and he would not interfere because this was my own decision,” Ms. Nhat said.

In another situation, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thoa (37 years old, Hoang Mai, Hanoi) shared that her child was a "victim" of being forced to practice beautiful handwriting. Like many other children, her child is quite active, mischievous and has bad handwriting. Living with her mother-in-law, who is also a retired teacher, the idea that "handwriting reflects character" is ingrained, making her always want her child to write beautifully.

“My mother-in-law often yelled at me, even used a whip to discipline me. We practiced writing day and night, and because of this, my husband and I argued many times,” the female parent said. Her child cried every time she practiced writing, and she didn’t want her to write badly and get bad grades, so she forced her to the end.

When she gave her mother-in-law advice, she received the answer, "I just want the best for you, so let me teach you." As a mother, Thoa just wants her child to do what he likes, but she herself is helpless because she doesn't dare to go against her mother-in-law's wishes.

Ms. Pham Thi Tho, a primary school teacher in Thai Binh, said that there are currently 3 types of handwriting: very beautiful handwriting (with practice), bad handwriting, and clear handwriting. Children in grades 1-2 only need to write clearly, without spelling mistakes, parents should not put too much emphasis on it . "The notion that bad handwriting means a sloppy, careless person in today's era is somewhat outdated and imposed. Because being careful is a human trait and can be trained in many ways and aspects," Ms. Tho said.

According to Ms. Tho, parents should only consider beautiful handwriting as an extracurricular activity, encouraged for gifted children. To avoid unfortunate consequences that affect the physical and mental development of children, children should not be forced to practice beautiful handwriting.

“Practicing writing for children must be based on each child’s ability and should not be forced. In particular, teaching children by beating, scolding, or even practicing until midnight is really bad and should be eliminated,” the female teacher emphasized.

Kim Nhung