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How is your hand-writing these days?

(69 Posts)
Fleurpepper Mon 20-Mar-23 17:32:56

In order not to highjack another thread- have you noticed that your handwriting flows less easily, and has become somewhat untidy and perhaps hesitant even?

We are type away to communicate with others- so it is not surprising. But should we be concerned and perhaps practise more?

Cherrytree59 Tue 21-Mar-23 09:20:15

Another messy handwriter here.
Have passed on card writing to DH.
Rarely need to actually write on paper these days.

Calender on phone, list on phone and/or Alexia.
Email WhatsApp, texting are the norm now.

No milkman to pop note into empty milk bottle🍶

Yammy Tue 21-Mar-23 09:23:33

My handwriting has reverted to a type taught at Junior school a kind of joined-up print called "Marion Richardson". As an infant teacher, it was all round print.
I especially noticed Christmas cards.
I have bought three-sided ballpoints which help the grip and keep it tidy, though quite child like.

Elusivebutterfly Tue 21-Mar-23 09:29:07

My handwriting was bad at school, then I learnt to type and use shorthand, which made it worse. Handwriting is an effort when you can use shorthand.
Recently I have found that I can't even manage my usual scruffy writing as the arthritis in my hands is getting worse.

fancythat Tue 21-Mar-23 09:30:56

I sometimes cannot read my own shopping lists! Though that is not too much of a new thing. I somtimes have to return home without whatever the item was.
I have to remind myself to write larger. Then I have a better chance of reading it.

Lovetopaint037 Tue 21-Mar-23 09:42:36

I have noticed this lately. My writing has got shaky and appears to lack control Writing cards is subject to this and I have put it down to getting older.

LadyGracie Tue 21-Mar-23 09:46:15

My handwriting is still good, I love writing. It’s very like my fathers was, my younger sisters is the same.

Happysexagenarian Tue 21-Mar-23 09:56:14

My handwriting has deteriorated over the last couple of years. We were taught to write in italic script at school and that was how I always wrote. I later became a keen calligrapher so my writing was really quite neat, and I try/tried to use a fountain pen whenever possible. So I now feel quite ashamed of my shaky spidery writing. But I'm blaming the cocktail of medications that I take, my hands are often shaky and pens seem to have a will of their own. My children have noticed the deterioration when I write on cards for them. I find that the flow of the ink and how smooth the paper is also makes a difference. Perhaps I should just do some practise exercises.

henetha Tue 21-Mar-23 10:29:49

My handwriting was reasonable until a couple of years ago.
Now it's small and often below the line, for some reason.
(my age I suppose). I still do write, mainly lists, almost every day, so it isn't lack of use.

Greyduster Tue 21-Mar-23 11:02:33

Mine is truly appalling. It used to be very neat. My father, who left school when he was fourteen, had beautiful handwriting all his life. All his letters were exactly the same height and the words evenly spaced. I tend to write very long emails to people these days. If I had to rely on hand written letters, they would need GCHQ to decode them!

mrswoo Tue 21-Mar-23 12:46:51

I once worked as a Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages and prided myself on my neat and legible register entries. These days I rarely hand-write anything and certainly never use a fountain pen. My writing is probably best described as slap dash although I canbe neat if I really try!

Witzend Tue 21-Mar-23 18:07:33

My handwriting was never good - partly down to 3 different schools in 4 years, each of which taught a different style of writing.
Some years ago, when I was doing OU exams (4 essays in 3 hours) I had to actively practise writing fairly fast and legibly - I was so unused to it - my hand would ache!

Fleurpepper Tue 21-Mar-23 18:46:19

Thanks for all your replies. So it seems most of us have noticed that our hand-writing is not quite as flowing and neat as before, even for those of us whose hand-writing was never perfect.

Will tell my sis in law that she is not alone, as she seemed quite concerned the other day.

HettyBetty Tue 21-Mar-23 20:40:30

I still write most days, my writing is fairly neat and tidy. I exchange regular hand written letters with a friend. We both agree it is so much nicer than an email, so lovely to get a proper piece of post and sit down with a cup of tea to read it.

Grannynannywanny Tue 21-Mar-23 20:55:45

I wrote a brief letter today and I was shocked to see how much my handwriting has changed. Maybe it’s a “use it or lose it” scenario. It’s probably 2 years since I’ve written a letter as almost everyone I know uses emails . Apart from a few Christmas cards and birthday cards I’m out of practice. I’m thinking the next day my little grandson is sitting at the table practising his writing I should join him in the task.

Welshy Tue 21-Mar-23 20:59:57

I write using all capital letters. Not that I do that much writing anyway, birthday cards, shopping lists etc. Does anyone else do this? Yet I don't when I type.

glammagran Tue 21-Mar-23 22:53:08

My handwriting used to look pretty good but no longer. I think this is because other than shopping lists I never write anything at all other than typing everything on one of my devices.

LisaAN Tue 21-Mar-23 23:24:19

My handwriting has never been beautiful, but always legible. It’s a mix of printed and joint up writing. All I write these days are shopping lists amd sometimes to do lists when I haven’t got my mobile close by to set reminders

grannyactivist Tue 21-Mar-23 23:57:37

From the time I left school up until about ten years ago my handwriting never altered. Since then it’s gone downhill and lost any particular style: for example I can write a word like forfeit and the two fs may look completely different. I do hand write lots of notes for my work, which I then type up and I can always read my own writing, but I always decline to note-take for anyone else.

NemosMum Wed 22-Mar-23 11:31:55

Lack of practise is one explanation, but deterioration can be symptomatic of various neurodegenerative conditions e.g. Parkinson's disease. Worth paying attention to if this seems to be part of a pattern of problems.

HeavenLeigh Wed 22-Mar-23 11:33:22

My handwriting hasn’t changed really over the years, I must admit I do love writing but find I don’t write that much now. But when I do I’ve had people comment on how neat it is. I always use gel pens.

icanhandthemback Wed 22-Mar-23 11:43:38

I could never write a sentence without making at least one mistake so although my handwriting looked good at a distance, the crossings out weren't pretty! Also, if you looked closely at my handwriting, you would find that half the letters had loops, the other half didn't. I could write an "s" or "r" in different ways in the same word. The way I write is dependant upon my mood. It may be upright, sloping forward or backwards. It is a bit like my brain, all over the place! All this typing hasn't made my handwriting any better.

stewaris Wed 22-Mar-23 11:48:00

My writing is pretty awful and I regularly got the belt when I was in primary school. Unfortunately, it didn't improve my handwriting just my stubbornness to do it my way. Resulted in getting the belt a lot and absolutely dreadful handwriting as an adult.

missdeke Wed 22-Mar-23 11:59:39

I used to have good handwriting but now I can barely hold a pen with my arthritis, consequently my writing is now atrocious. I try to always have a 'fat' pen in my bag so I can grip it better.

Coppernob Wed 22-Mar-23 12:27:46

My writing was always quite neat but since having a thumb joint operation in December it's now nothing like it used to be. Some days I can write a few words that are legible, another day I can't even hold a pen or pencil comfortably yet. But at least the awful arthritic pain is no more.

JudyBloom Wed 22-Mar-23 12:42:00

I tend to still do handwriting alongside 'typing' as I do enjoy writing in general, though my style has changed over the years.