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Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Behaviour/development

bizarre backward/mirror writing

28 replies

kittyb · 21/03/2006 22:27

Has anyone experienced this? DS 4 1/2, does a lot of drawing but not keen on writing at all, which is fine because he's only four and a half. But he has started writing his name, but from right to left and with the letters reversed. I havent held it up to a mirror yet but it looks like mirror writing!!! Its quite spooky!!

Is this a normal developmental stage?

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starlover · 21/03/2006 22:28

i used to work with a MOT (tom) who did this! He grew out of it...

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Snips · 21/03/2006 22:29

Think so. Ds1 will be five in July and he does some of his letters backwards, but not all the time (esp b's and p's and s's). He also does some numbers backwards!!

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thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat · 21/03/2006 22:29

dd1 did this quite a lot. I think what happens is they start off in the wrong direction (I mean there isn;t really any logic to doing left to right instead of right to left) and once started they just carry on as normal - making the right shapes etc. and the result is mirror writing.

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Miaou · 21/03/2006 22:31

Lots of children do this. It's to do with the way their brains work - they don't necessarily see the back/front business, they are so busy trying to get the curves/crosses/lines etc in the right place!

Really, don't worry about it kittyb - perfectly normal (even when at school some children regularly reverse letters). Just praise him for his efforts and don't point out the mistakes for now .

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lucy5 · 21/03/2006 22:31

Is he left handed ,my dd does this due to left handedness?

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kittyb · 21/03/2006 22:31

so its not the village ducking stool for him then!

thanks for this

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blueteddy · 21/03/2006 22:33

I work in a primary school & can assure you that mirror writing is very common in children of your DS's age.
He will grow out of it.

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jampots · 21/03/2006 22:38

my dd used to do this before she started school - is a bit freaky isnt it

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tallmummy · 21/03/2006 22:39

I too taught reception for 12 years and I saw this alot. It is quite often true mirror writing.

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notasheep · 21/03/2006 22:40

My dd also did this for a while as she is left handed

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kipper22 · 22/03/2006 10:19

just echoing other ex-reception teachers! i'm impressed that he's writing at all - sign of a good parent who spends time with her son!

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JonesTheSteam · 22/03/2006 10:22

DD reverses her letters sometimes (she's just 5), she's left-handed.

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Hallgerda · 22/03/2006 18:41

Yes, absolutely normal. All three of mine have done it, stopped after a while and had no problems.

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Wallace · 22/03/2006 18:47

Ds did this a lot, dd more rarely. The most memorable time beiing whne she was at nursery when they had paint spread on hte table and were using their hands to make patterns, then putting a piece of paper on top to print the pattern on to the paper. Dd wrote her name in perfect mirror writing in the paint, so it was completely the right way whne transferred onto the paper...I reckon she's a genius and did it on purpose

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peaches27 · 12/04/2006 20:07

I have taught children who did this then grew out of it.

When I was teacher training we were told to encourage the child, when they write their names on a picture, to start in the top left hand corner. This encourages correct directionality.

You can also do little writing exercises that encourage correct direction - youve seen the type of thing probably in those writing at home type books.
There is a dog at the left hand side of the page and a kennel at the right ... draw a path from the dog to the kennel. Do the same with a cat and a fish, or a horse and a stable etc...
Also encourage painting wiggly worms starting at the left side of the paper. When you read to him, ask him to point where the text (or writing) starts i.e. top left.

But he will probably grow out of it.

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Witchycat · 12/04/2006 20:09

Snips' comment could have been written by me. Same age boy with exactly the same writing habits here.

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Troutpout · 13/04/2006 21:54

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TwoIfBySea · 13/04/2006 22:11

Echoing what everyone has said really, just reassurance. My dts both when through a phase of this just before Christmas so just before their 4th birthdays. The nursery staff told me it happens a lot, and a few of the other children were doing the same. We spent ages huddled over the art boxes trying to read names backward to collect the painting, drawings etc!

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Angeliz · 13/04/2006 22:12

My dd used to do this all the time at 3-4. It is wierd but it does pass.
She writed great now (she's 5 now)

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prettybird · 21/04/2006 08:59

My ds (5.5) did this yesterday for the first time: whole sentence from the school book he has been reading this week. This was an exrcsie he did at school, where he was supposed to describe various picures from the book - which he did perfectly, only in backwards mirror writing. He insists he didn't "copy" it (which he does have a tendency to do ), but that it "came into his head".

I'm not sure whether to be proud that he has finally written some independent sentences (whereas in the past he has always goen to find something to copy) or to be worried that it was mirror writing!

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Jennypog · 21/04/2006 13:19

It is because children don't have the directional thing that adults have - all writing is new to them. As an adult you are conditioned to write from left to right (if you write English, at least) but children don't have this, so they can write in any direction. My daughter was great at this mirror type writing which makes you instantly think that there is a learning difficulty.

As they become more experienced with reading and writing this type of thing fades and then ceases altogether.

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Twiga · 27/04/2006 12:06

Was just reading this out of interest as have a friend who writes like this - she can write normally too. I think she's left handed, always found it fascinating - is a teacher and in her 20's.

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wishfulthinking · 27/04/2006 12:24

I did this when I was younger (a lot younger obviously!), I'm left handed and can see why it would more prevelant. I can still remember being in infants and my teacher sending me back with my writing saying 'stop being silly and do it right'......I couldn't see what I'd done wrong!

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Earlybird · 27/04/2006 12:25

Is it a sign of potential dyslexia?

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CountessDracula · 27/04/2006 12:27

My mother can write as fast in mirror writing as she can in normal

When I was a teenager she used to leave me notes in it and I would have to read them in the mirror (bloody weirdo!)

She was left handed but they tied her left hand behind her back and made her write with her right hand (1940s australian boarding school/convent unbelievable) But as a result she can do this