I often hear from parents who are worried about their child’s handwriting.

Sometimes it’s the neatness. Sometimes it’s the size. Sometimes it’s the general feeling that the words have survived some sort of minor earthquake on their way onto the page.

Presentation matters. In schoolwork, homework, 11+ exams, entrance exams and beyond, children need to be able to write in a way that someone else can actually read.

But when a child’s handwriting is messy, the answer isn’t always as simple as saying, “Just write more neatly.”

In fact, that can sometimes make the problem worse.