Curious???? At what age should children generally stop

[afeminame]

Hello Homeschooling world,

 

I my dd who is 5, still writes some of her numbers(3,5,7,9) and letters backwards (b/d/s/p/q/z). At what age should children generally stop writing backwards or have letter confusion?

 

I am not concern yet. Just wondering, if this problem persist when should I look for help.

 

Thanks for your in put.

[newlifemom]

I wouldn't worry about until 7 or older. I would always gently correct though. HWT is a good program for that b/c I think the way they do it, it is impossible to write them backwards.

[Gretchen in NJ]

IMHO it is much too young to worry about. She has just begun. If you wanted too, you could have her trace one line of one of the letters she has trouble with. I would not make it an issue.:001_smile:

[Mama Anna]

If it helps, my dd1 just turned 6 a couple of weeks ago and today, for the first time, she wrote 3 out of 4 threes the correct way without me saying a word. She's a perfectionist who gets really flustered when she makes a mistake, so I've been only asking her to correct when she notices there's a mistake or else she's in a good enough frame of mind that it won't get her down.

 

I think she's growing out of it - the fives and twos are getting better too . . .

 

HTH!

 

Mama Anna

[Lilymax]

I've had the same issue with my son. My friend, a former PS teacher and now a HS'er and tutor for Sylvan, said not to worry until after age 8 or so. Especially with boys, it can be really common to do this.

 

His biggest problem is with lower case d,b,p and q.

[mollies73]

When my older two children were still in school, there were still children in the third grade getting d and b confused.

[Moni]

At what age should children generally stop writing backwards or have letter confusion?

.

 

Puberty.

;)

Well, that's kind of the mindset I have about these things.

If she is driving and still doing it, then it's time to address it.

 

Usually such things resolve themselves over time.

:seeya:

[EKS]

My son is 13 and he still has trouble. But he also has dyslexia.

[kalanamak]

 

I am not concern yet. Just wondering, if this problem persist when should I look for help.

 

 

Google dyslexia and you'll find some sites with standard symptoms broken down by age. Whenever I'd get nervous, being a first time mother and schooler, I'd recheck that list and relax a bit. My son has almost completely extinguished it, but the other day mistook a b for p. Hasn't done that in years. Be sure the printing is big enough. My child used glasses that were simple magnifiers for much of K and some of 1st, but his close vision is improving with age, as it should.

 

HTH

[cillakat]

by third grade....alone, this is not a symptom of dyslexia.

 

dys-add.com has a great list of dyslexia symptoms broken down by age. I'd look at it and if there are enough to be concerning, act now- do. not. wait.

 

K

[FO4UR]

It's not something to worry about, but it's not something I would just wait for time to heal either.

 

Teaching the handwriting strokes (with gross motor movement...not pencil/paper) will help. There is something about forming those letters with play-doh that makes them stick. Get the letters in a 3D format - having your child actually form them...and then using the playdoh models to review the handwriting strokes (trace over it with finger). Do a few letters a week...some easy and one that's reversed.

 

www.progressivephonics.com had some good readers, and cut&paste letters that have been helpful for us.

[Ellie]

It's not uncommon at that age.

 

One reason I really like Spalding is that it gives children specific instructions in the directionality of writing letters and numbers. Without that, children often just write things based on how they see you write, and they're watching you backwards, KWIM?

[Pamela H in Texas]

I'm in the don't worry camp also. My kids did it pretty late (9-ish).

 

I *would* work on it though. A handwriting program is pretty normal for Kindergarten. Make sure you do the multi-sensory things as another poster mentioned. HWT has block letters (my mom, an OT, says you can make your own out of cardboard). Using a slate is good as it feels differently. Drawing letters in shaving cream or with your finger through rice also is good. Using a pencil through clay is another option. Of course, everyone's heard of sandpaper letters. Pretending to be an elephant drawing it with your trunk really big in the air can be fun. The pencil to the paper stuff is just icing on the cake, so to speak.

[Dirtroad]

I agree with several posts... I haven't seen my DD do any this year, but last year, she still had them slip in on occassion. She was in the 3rd grade and was 7 years old.

 

I would say around 7... her brother stopped a bit sooner, but not by much. He actually made a couple of cursive letters backwards the other day and he is 10! He recognized it & fixed it... but his brain still had his hand write it backwards!:lol:

[JVA]

I STRONLY recommend you take your child to be evaluated by a developmental optometrist. You can look online to find one close to you.

http://covd.org/

They can provide an evaluation, diagnosis and treatment for so MANY issues. While it is quite common for kids to reverse numbers and letters, sometimes if left untreated, it will morph into real serious vision problems. The doc's eval will probably be fun for your child and the treatment is usually enjoyable, as well. Two of our boys needed vision therapy for a year or more and it made a world of difference.

It won't hurt for a developmental optometrist to do the eval and it may save you years of heartache and your child, frustration.

[afeminame]

Thank you all. Checked out the websites that have been suggested and it was a great help. I know what other symptoms to look for and at what age. Right now, it is basically, letter confusion and just being a 5 year who writes some her letters backward.