The 10 Best Pens for Children

At a lot of junior schools especially in the UK when children first learn to write they have to use a pencil until they can form the letters properly and then they are awarded a pen license and can start using a pen for the first time.

A good pen for children needs to be comfortable for their small hands, be designed to encourage proper finger placement and hold and be fun to look at and use. If they are left-handed the pen needs to have quick-drying ink to prevent smudging.

There is a school of thought that using a fountain pen can help improve children’s writing but at the end of the day what they are comfortable using is equally as important.

We have put together a list of the 10 best pens for children included are ballpoint pens, rollerball & fountain pens. Most have ergonomic grips or are specially shaped for correct finger placement. Some pens are for older children and the Uni Jetstream ballpoints or gel pens are what we recommend for left-handed writers.

1. Berol Handwriting Pen

Berol Handwriting Pen

The Berol handwriting pen is an ideal pen for children to help them acquire a good style of handwriting. It has a hard-wearing plastic nib that gives a slight resistance when your child is writing on paper.

This helps your child to have better control allowing proper letter formation and promoting a good style of writing. It has a medium tip that writes a 0.6mm wide line.

The pens ink is washable so it can be washed out of most clothes and from non-porous surfaces.

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2. Bic Kids Learner Ball Pen

Bic Kids Twist Retractable Pen Blue

The Bic Kids Learner Ball Pen is another pen that helps children learn how to write properly. It was specifically designed by teachers in France to help children position their fingers correctly using the visually yellow mark on the pen as a guide. This pen is also recommended by Ruth Stephens a child occupational therapist whose area of expertise is working with children who have handwriting difficulties.

The pen has a comfortable grip and a smooth flowing ink that offers just the right amount of resistance to aid in controlling the pen while forming letters. It has a medium 1.0mm tip that writes a 0.4mm wide line and is suitable for both left and right-handed children.

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3. Lamy ABC Fountain Pens

Lamy ABC FP Blue

The Lamy ABC fountain pen was specifically designed in conjunction with education experts for children who are just starting to write.

It is a cartridge fountain pen with a rounded, comfortable body made of maple wood and a non-slip rubberized triangular grip that assists a natural relaxed position for their fingers. The pens are recommended for their smooth nibs and sturdy construction, capable of withstanding plenty of abuse from schoolkids.

The pen has a special medium beginner nib made from strong polished steel and can be refilled with Lamy T10 ink cartridges.

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4. Lamy Safari Ballpoint Pens

Lamy Safari BP Black

The Lamy Safari ballpoint pen will suit older children it is a very comfortable pen to use and is made from strong lightweight plastic. It has an ergonomic triangular-shaped grip that makes the pen feel natural in your hand and easy to use when writing.

It has a push-button at the end of the pen to retract the tip and has a medium tip, the pen can be refilled with Lamy M16 ballpoint pens.

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5. Lamy Safari Fountain Pens

Lamy Safari FP Green

The Iconic Lamy Safari fountain pen is another pen that will suit older children and favored by many adults as well. The pen has a triangular-shaped ergonomic grip and is made from strong lightweight plastic.

The Safari is, without doubt, the most popular fountain pen there is with school children and students at college or university and has developed an almost cult-like status.

There are lots of different nibs available for these pens, but you should start your child off with a medium, or a fine nib if they prefer smaller writing. The pen can be refilled with Lamy T10 ink cartridges although you can buy a Lamy Z28 Ink converter and use bottled ink if you prefer.

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6. Maped Visio Left-Handed Pens

Maped Visio Left Handed Childrens Pen

Maped is a French company that specializes in designing products for children of school age. The Maped Visio Left-hand pen has been designed specifically with a curved barrel to give left-handers more visibility and allow them to clearly see what they are writing.

The pen has a comfortable triangular grip with indentations for the finger and thumb that encourages a natural writing position for left-handers.

It also has a smooth flowing fast-drying ink that prevents smudging which can be a problem for left-handed writers if the ink does not dry quickly enough.

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7. Pelikan Griffix Ink Pens

Pelikano Griffix Ink Pen

The Pelikan Griffix ink pen has been specifically designed by scientists and teachers to provide an ergonomic design that supports a natural and relaxed writing posture. The Pelikan Griffix ink pen is easy to write with and, at the same time, it has much in common with a fountain pen: a similar type of writing, good resistance on the paper and fluent writing movements.

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8. Pelikan Pelikano Junior Fountain Pens

Pelikano Junior Fountain Pen

The Pelikano Junior fountain pen has a more modern design that may appeal to children a bit more than the Lamy ABC. The pens grip area has been specially designed to allow children to hold it with the perfect grip.

It has a pressure-resistant and elastic nib to aid writing and the cap has been designed to prevent it from rolling off a desk. The pen can only be refilled with Pelikan ink cartridges and I would recommend using Pelikan 4001 royal blue cartridges to start with as these can also be erased and rewritten over with an ink eradicator pen.

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9. Stabilo Easyoriginal Rollerball Pens

Stabilo Easy Original Blue

The ’Stabilo Easyoriginal rollerball pen is curved to fit neatly over a child’s hands. The pen also is made with finger grooves that automatically place the fingers in a natural, comfortable hold that helps prevent cramping while still allowing maximum control over the writing tip.

The range is available in several bright colors that children like. And, with options like blue erasable ink, black ink and red ink for the pens, they’re suited for just about any type of schoolwork.

The ‘move easy’ writes smoothly and evenly, so it takes little pressure to move it over the writing surface, making it, as the name says, easy for a child to use. In fact, we recommend the left-handed version for both children and adults alike.

With all that, it’s easy to believe that the pen, as Stabilo boasts on its website, is “praised by teachers, approved by parents, loved by children.”

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10. Uni Jetstream Ball Point Pens

Uni Jetstream SXN 150 Black

The Uni Jetstream ballpoint pen is one of our favorite pens that are ideal for children who are left-handed writers as the ink is very fast drying.

My daughter is left-handed and she was having problems at junior school using the stick pens that the school supplied as her hand was catching on the ink as she wrote and smudging it.

We asked the school if she could use her own pen which they agreed to and gave her a Uni-Jetstream ballpoint pen, the problem solved no more smudging.

As for the pen, it has a comfortable rubber grip and a special low viscosity ink that makes it quite a smooth writer for a ballpoint pen. they are also available as gel pens that also have quick-drying inks.

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With so much choice, what it comes down to is that it is extremely difficult to name one pen the “best” for children. As you try to decide what kind of pen is best suited to help your child learn to write, it’s important to remember that no single pen works for every child.

The right pen is the one that provides your individual child with the most comfortable writing experience.

We also have a guide as to what the best mechanical pencils for children are it explains what makes a good children’s mechanical pencil with our top recommended pencils.

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Tony Bridges

As a seasoned journalist and freelance writer, I've spent over three decades telling stories and exploring the world through the written word. With a passion for writing instruments, I found my niche at The Pen Vibe, a blog that shares our collective fascination with pens, pencils, and other tools that have shaped the art of writing.

4 thoughts on “The 10 Best Pens for Children”

  1. PILOT G2 is a great pen for children. In terms of ink quality, this gel pen doesn’t disappoint with its rich black ink, suitable for taking notes, journaling, and any writing demands and needs. It gives off a vivid dark shade that you can use for producing deep, bold, and precise flowing lines.

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  2. Hello what a nice article about stabilo, i sell stabilo markers and i wass wondering if i have the permit to translate your text and put it in our information database?

    Reply

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