AIBU to be a handwriting snob

[GetOrfMoiLand]

Yes, I probably am but this is my first AIBU (in 2 years!) so be gentle

Looking at DD's geography books she has started doing what I call bimbo handwriting - round circles instead of dots above the i's, big massive circle shaped a's, d's and p's etc (wish could articulate what I mean).

She used to have normal handwriting. God knows why she has decided to change it. AIBU to tell her to stop writing like this and go back to normal? (BTW DP has told me to leave her alone and stop being a fussy old mare)

[FlappyCake]

When she starts doing little hearts above the i's you've got permission to worry.

[bohemianbint]

How old is she? Assuming she's just impressionable she'll probably grow out of it. Am sure it's compulsory at about 13 to write like a fool...

[GetOrfMoiLand]

Oh god don't say that.

She has already got shimmery lilac gel pens

[Thunderduck]

Leave her to it.

[Salleroo]

Dont worry, it's just a phase, I did it for a while and now have beautiful copperplate, still love a lilac gel pen mind you

[GetOrfMoiLand]

Yes, she is 13.

Presumably it's a rite of passage.

When I was 13 I was heavily into The Smiths, so all the dots above my i's probably had hearing aids

Bloody hell though dots above the i's look so shtoooopid.

[Hassled]

She'll grow out of it. I had the most pretentious handwriting imaginable when I was about 12 - I even bought myself an italic-nibbed fountain pen so I could look poncier still. It seems to be an embarrassing phase some girls go through. Just make sure you save some so you can tease her about it in a few years' time .

[nevergonnapost]

i love doing heart shapes above the i least of my worries tbh

[Alambil]

depends really - I think circles instead of dots and things looks odd but DS has fine motor skills issues and so his writing is still extremely basic and messy so YABU if it's a "not on the line" / messy issue rather than a forming the letters weirdly issue.... if that makes sense!

I wouldn't worry though - most stuff in life is likely to be printed anyway!

[NotSoRampantRabbit]

I went to a right posh prep school and had the handwriting of an Elizabethan bard for a while.

Then I went to a less posh school and started with the bimbo thing - well a girl's gotta fit in somehow.

Nowadays I have rather lovely writing that is somewhere between the two (but all joined up and without the circles/hearts over i's).

I would ignore and hope reason prevails by the time she reaches her 30's!

[duchesse]

She's a teenager, presumably. If she were 23 I would seriously share your snobbery reservations, but I can remember experimenting with handwriting, ink colour, etc.. between 12 and 17. She's probably trying out someone else's h/writing.

This too shall pass... Before you know she'll be at university and her handwriting will become appropriately illegible.

On balance YABU.

[Hulababy]

It;s a phase. lots of them do it. Just like they do all that text talk. They usually grow out of it.

[GetOrfMoiLand]

All the titles in her books are in bubble writing as well with exclamation marks after them e.g. Village Life in Ghana!!!!

[duchesse]

Ah, she's reached the Excessive Use of the Exclamation Mark stage. Sit tight.

[GetOrfMoiLand]

Marmaduke - you must see some sunny stuff written in the books.

I love reading dd's stuff, some of her opinions are completely off the wall, and there is such innocence in them.

Ok concensus is I am being a grumpy snobby old cow.

[stealthsquiggle]

It's a phase.

I know I did it.

Then I had lovely writing for a while.

Then I moved to using a PC so much that I can't write properly any more

(but my writing is still loads better than DH's which is appalling and defaults to capitals when writing lists, etc, and he gets narky when I ask him to do lower case letters for the DC )

[GetOrfMoiLand]

sunny - I meant funny.

duchesse - sit tight re the exclamation marks. What's next...over excessive use of......ellipses?

I do remember my bf at school having loads of different coloured pens, which she would use for underlining her titles three times, and bullets points etc in different colours. All seemed like a load of old faff to me, could barely scratch the effort to carry a stolen borrowed biro around.

[BecauseImWorthIt]

At least she wants it to look nice! (and in her world it looks beautiful!)

Thing with teenage boys is their handwriting just gets worse and they simply can't comprehend why it's a problem.

[bicci]

I too am a handwriting snob.
Hearts above i's, or medieval e's - yuk. Or too short stems on letters....can't bear it.
Very judgemental about it, just can't help it.
You have my every sympathy, but like everyone says I dare sy she'll grow out of it soon.

@ bubble writing and exclamation marks- made me laugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MayorNaze]

oh gosh yes i judge proper grown ups who write like this

they also usually mix up your and you're in sentences too [extra judgey emoticon]

teenagers - fine. i was always a bit gutted that my deliberate attemtps to bimbo-ize myhandwriting didn't look quite chavvy enough and so i gave up

am still partial to the odd gel pen though...

[GetOrfMoiLand]

lol Bicci

Yes very short stems on letters so it is all circle and every letter looks the same (oh is difficult to explain).

What are medieval e's? Are they the ones which look like backwards 3's? DD doesn't do them (yet).

[bicci]

MayorNaze- yes- your and you're, ha!

GoetOrf -backwards 3's are they. They also add to the general rounded forms making writing look more cuddly.

[pointydog]

Teenagers. They want to show their lovely individuality. So they:

1. spend a huge amount of time finding a school shirt/jumper which is subtley different from everyone else's yet still cool
2. choose a paper to cover jotters with great care and attention to detail
3. cobble together an interesting handwriting style

[curlygal]

I can picture exactly what her handwriting must be like - we used to call it bubble writing.

If it's any consolation I went to University with a girl who still wrote like that at 18 when she started uni. She completed her Law degree and got a job with a v important Law Firm.

She is now 35.....................and still writes like a teenager so it clearly didn;t do her any harm!

Personally though I would say it is a phase and most girls will grow out of it