If you write, your children will write with you
Today’s parents are increasingly concerned that children seem to be losing traditional writing skills. To a great extent, this is the result of how modern technology has impacted parents’ lives: for many adults, pen-and-ink writing has been superseded by typing and texting. Because children imitate their parents, if they don’t see their mothers and fathers writing, they won’t either.
Sally Page (the creator of PLOOMS ink fountain pens) is keen to address the issue: “I often hear parents complaining that their children are not writing and I ask, ‘do they see you putting pen to paper?’. There is no doubt [that] from smoking to reading and writing, children often copy their parents. So if you want your children to know the joy of writing in ink, put down the iPad and pick a PLOOM!”
She even suggests combining the personal flourish of traditional writing with the convenience of modern technology through a method she dubs ‘plooming’. Plooming involves writing a message in ink and then photographing it to be sent as an image file to someone’s phone or e-mail account. “It is a lovely thing to recognise your friends by their handwriting,” Page believes. “You may not have time to write a letter, but the next time you have something special to say, don’t text it, PLOOM it!”
The importance of imitation as a learning tool in children has been studied extensively and is one of the most widely accepted and understood facets of human development (a good explanation of this mechanism can be found in Andrew N. Meltzoff’s ‘Born to Learn: What Infants Learn by Watching Us’, published in 1999). There can therefore be little doubt that Sally Page’s assertions have a strong basis in developmental science. If parents take the time to indulge in traditional writing, put personal touches on letters and cards, and take pleasure in their handwriting, so will their children.
More information about PLOOMS can be found on their website [http://www.plooms.co.uk/Plooms/Plooms_welcome.html] or by contacting [insert name] at [insert email].