b/d confusion

[Brittany1116]

This is an infrequent but existant issue for my youngest. By what age does it typically resolve? He also occasionally writes numerals backwards. I know it can be developmentally normal, just wondering for how long. Thanks

[Noreen Claire]

DS12 still pauses before writing a b/d to make sure he's writing the correct one. (But, only when printing - he does not have this issue when I make him write in cursive.)

DS9 is a lefty and, when writing for himself, will sometimes still write completely mirrored (backwards letters written from right-to-left -- hold it up to a mirror and it reads perfectly!) He still sometimes reverses other letters & numerals as well.

[EmilyGF]

B/D confusion often lasts until age 7 or 8. 

We just used a bookmark made from an index card with the word "bed" written on it with a stick figure lying down on it, head on the b and feet on the d. That way the child could check while reading and not practice incorrectly. I found it really effective.

My lefty also tending to track oppositely and write in mirror image for a while. 

[HomeAgain]

This is part of why we started with D'nealian handwriting and 100 Easy Lessons.  In  100 Easy Lessons they are two different forms entirely (d with a slanted oval), so he couldn't confuse them without trying hard.  The two letters are written totally differently in D'nealian, with different starting points, so when ds would look at a page in a regular book he would just trace it like he did with his handwriting practice, saying the sound at the same time.  It was enough reinforcement to nip it sooner for him.

I have a bonus kid with the same issues, and it resolved within a year of starting those two methods.  At 9, he still writes numbers backwards occasionally but that started out from a class of no instruction and was glossed over for other issues that were more pressing when I started with him.  This year he is working on correcting what has become habit, tracing the number and then writing it down with an easy math workbook.  It's not enough for him to copy, he is at a point where he needs the reinforcement of doing it while doing the math.

[EmilyGF]

3 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

This is part of why we started with D'nealian handwriting and 100 Easy Lessons.  In  100 Easy Lessons they are two different forms entirely (d with a slanted oval), so he couldn't confuse them without trying hard.  The two letters are written totally differently in D'nealian, with different starting points, so when ds would look at a page in a regular book he would just trace it like he did with his handwriting practice, saying the sound at the same time.  It was enough reinforcement to nip it sooner for him.

I have a bonus kid with the same issues, and it resolved within a year of starting those two methods.  At 9, he still writes numbers backwards occasionally but that started out from a class of no instruction and was glossed over for other issues that were more pressing when I started with him.  This year he is working on correcting what has become habit, tracing the number and then writing it down with an easy math workbook.  It's not enough for him to copy, he is at a point where he needs the reinforcement of doing it while doing the math.

Yeah, I tried Cursive First where the b/d have no similarity to each other what-so-ever and she still managed to mix them up. I guess she noticed them in the environment?

[Not_a_Number]

I had to do nonsense words to resolve this with DD5. She was way too good at predicting them from context otherwise. 

[SoCal_Bear]

I had my kids make circles with there thumb and forefingers to make the letters b and d. They would join them together to form a "bed." That's how they keep b and d straight because b comes before d in the alphabet and in the word bed.

[LauraClark]

My oldest seems to have fixed it by about age 9. DS7 still reverses them even when reading.

[Gil]

I taught my kids to use their right hand to form the letter d (use the thumb and index finger to make the circle.)

They traced this shape with their left hand and said "doorknob before the door"

By internalizing the d, they could get b by process of elimination.

By using their hands, they always had their "reference" material ready.

 

[Doodlebug]

I'm going to echo others who shared that a handwriting approach which makes a clear distinction in forming those two letters is helpful. 

I believe I did IEW's Primary Arts of Language with DS at around age 6.  Lots of games.  Lots of fun "letter stories" that helped kids remember how to form letters.  Without going into a lengthy background, there are letters like d's that are called c-starter letters as they begin life as a c -- after the c is constructed, the pencil point remains on the paper and continues up to the top line and then back down to the lower line to create that stem. 

Other letters, like's b's are not c-starters.  The pencil point begins at that top line and draws a straight line down before it explodes like an o-bubble bomb off of the right side of the stem,  b's were a favorite letter here as they were action packed.  😉 

B-bubble bombs did it for my kid, but he had to be ready to write... and that didn't really happen until he was 6.

 

Edited October 7, 2021 by Doodlebug