Writing by hand on paper may seem old-fashioned in this digital era we live in today, but the fact is that learning to write by hand from an early age is still very important for children. The latest research from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) published in the journal Psychological Science shows that practicing handwriting has incredible benefits for children's brain and memory abilities.
According to the journal, handwriting can refine fine motor skills and create motor-perceptual experiences that help children learn literacy-related skills faster. These skills are much better as compared to learning the same material by typing on a keyboard or watching a video (Wiley & Rapp, 2021).
President Joko Widodo has instructed the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud) to develop Indonesia's human resources holistically, where literacy, numeracy, character, and talent development have equal levels of importance.
Meanwhile, literacy activist Maman Suherman shared that writing by hand from an early age is an investment in our children's intelligence and future. This skill will shape their character as individuals who can think critically and become reliable problem solvers. He also emphasized the importance of support from all parties, including parents, teachers, and the community, to keep children motivated to practice and develop their handwriting skills.
"Children need to experience things. And writing by hand creates a very deep experience that lasts a lifetime. We also know that writing by hand is the best therapy for adults. Literacy is learning about life skills; and character development and values," said Maman.
Maman added that literacy skills are one of the key factors in shaping an excellent generation and writing by hand is an integral part of that process. "By exploring creativity and uniqueness in expressing oneself through handwriting, children will learn to appreciate the beauty of language and its power to change the world," he said.
To revive the culture of writing by hand from an early age, one of the notebook brands in Indonesia, SiDU, has launched the Ayo Menulis SiDU (Let's Write with SiDU) program since 2017. This program aims to encourage children to write by hand and provide support to teachers and parents to help their children learn to handwrite because writing by hand can cultivate literacy skills that will later help children become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and intelligent language users.
"We strongly support the government's efforts to improve literacy, especially the ability to write from an early age. We believe that writing by hand is an important skill that must be mastered by children," said Domestic Business Head Stationery Business APP Sinar Mas Adi Kurniawan.
Furthermore, Adi said that besides reading, communicating, and analyzing information, through the Ayo Menulis SiDU program, they want to help introduce and improve the habit of writing by hand to children in Indonesia. This is seen as necessary as part of SiDU's commitment to shaping Indonesia's human resources that are excellent, competent, and globally competitive for the future.
SiDU, as a manufacturer of notebooks in Indonesia produced by APP Sinar Mas, has accompanied children's activities in Indonesia for more than three decades. SiDU notebooks have various advantages, such as diverse cover designs, clean white paper colors that are comfortable to the eyes, and sheets of paper that are not easily penetrated when written on. Thus, writing on SiDU notebooks can be an enjoyable activity for children.
