Surfside Academy Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 My oldest son still confuses his "b" & "d"! I know it's been discussed many times here before by why can't he get it???? I've tried the picture of the bed; telling him that to be a "b" it has to be right, etc. but he still constantly confuses the letters both when he reads and writes. I don't think he's dyslexic because he doesn't confuse anything else or write anything else backward...just these 2 letters...continually, all the time, constantly... He's 7 1/2 years old and I would think by now, after telling him a thousand times that it would sink in. Am I expecting too much?? :banghead: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moxie Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 He's 7 1/2 years old and I would think by now, after telling him a thousand times that it would sink in. Am I expecting too much?? :banghead: Yes, I think so. My 7 year old is really bright but still gets several numbers backward and mixes up "b" and "d" at least once a day. Chill out, Mom, he'll get it before he goes to college;). Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArwenA Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Yes, I think so. My 7 year old is really bright but still gets several numbers backward and mixes up "b" and "d" at least once a day. Chill out, Mom, he'll get it before he goes to college;). Melissa :iagree: Earlier this year DD7 couldn't the "b" and "d" thing, recently it's clicked. It was the same with DS10, he couldn't figure out "p" and "q" until he was eight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryl B in VA Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 9 yos still has to think about it and sometimes gets them confused. He was also a late reader who is finally fluent enough to read The Littles series. As someone said, they will get it before they go to college. P.S. Loved the smiley banging its head against the wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wee Pip Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I have a 7 1/2 yo dd (and you *know* girls are supposed to be better at this sort of thing, right?) and she mixes b, d, p, q, j. She finally conquered c & s at the start of this year, which is why I'm not worried (IOW, there seems to be improvement). She can't remember which letter is y or w, so I use sign language to remind her, and then she says "oh yeah". Numbers get switched, especially if she is learning a new concept in math. She auditorily mixes 8 & 9, which makes it hard to do math orally (since its hard enough to handwrite it) I'm having a REALLY BAD DAY. I now have 2 girls (7 1/2 & 5 1/2) doing school and reversing letters. And I thought to myself, I just don't think I can handle teaching 2 kids that reverse letters!! Ugh! And then I saw the thread with samples of Kindergarten handwriting and thought, "you've got to be kidding me". I think I signed up for the wrong job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfside Academy Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Hang in there Wee Pip! If I can do it, so can you! I was hoping that someone could recommend a miraculous way of helping our kids remember but I guess we'll just have to wait it out like the rest. It has to get better, right? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I used to worry about the same thing but it worked out. DD is 8.5 and finally seems to have her "b" and "d" straightened out. The number 5 still sometimes gets written backwards but she usually notices and corrects it. Hang in there, you probably just need a little more time. Whatever you do, do NOT teach them the little trick of just using a capitals when they need a "b" or a "d". A friend of mine says her husband was taught this as a child and still, to this day, uses this whenever he writes. The sad thing is, his first name has a "D" in the middle and his last name has a "B" in the middle. So, he writes his first name as "RanDy." Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Bear Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 :D:D:D Have you tried this? Take your fists and butt the backs of your knuckles up together, thumbs in the air, so that your fingernails are facing you and you've made a bed. This has helped my youngers to remember this because the B and D are on the proper sides as represented by their hands. Something about doing it physically seems to make it stick a little more deeply. Also, drawing them HUGE, as in, using one's whole arm, exaggerating the motions, using leftover single socks to form the letters, drawing the letters in a table full of shaving cream, sand, rice, or pudding. This lays new neural pathways in kidlets brains because they've used larger groups of muscles to write with, therefore adding muscle memory plus alternate ways of thinking about the letters to their arsenal. Some kids also just plain remember better if they're learning while in motion. We've memorized multiplication tables whilst climbing stairs, the Gettysburg Address while circling a chair in the middle of the family room. Shoot, if it works for head injured folks re-learning everything, it'll work for children. (Ahem. Most days. :D Also, the persistent need to do this occasionally annoys me to the point that my head begins to emit popping noises. TMI, sorry.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristavws Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 My 4 1/2 year old consistently mixed these two letter up. I tried to relate it to something he would understand. I told him to picture a parasaurolophus (he already knew that dinosaur started with the letter "d"). The "o" part of the letter "d" was the head the "l" part of the "d" was the thing on its head. I then finished drawing a complete parasaurolophus from the letter "d". I know this seems complex, but he has not mixed "b" and "d" up a single time since this explanation! Krista Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithfamily5 Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 My daughter also had this problem until recently. She turned 8 in December. From what I've read, it's normal and like you said, he's not confusing or flipping anything else, it will click! Hang in there! Patty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Teach them cursive. It is impossible to mix the letters up. I am finally breaking down and starting cursive with mine in a bit using HWT. My almost 12 yr old and 9 yr old STILL confuse b, d, p, q, and 9. I have an Alphabet and number chart on the wall so they can check the formation before they write it...works when they remember to look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I posted about this recently for my ds. Someone wrote in this tip which has worked great... Hold up your hands like you're making an "ok" sign with each (thumb and forefinger making a circle, other fingers straight up). Then you remember that they are in the same order that they come in the alphabet. The b is on the left, the d is on the right ...b comes before d. It's worked great for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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