4yr old 'mirror' writing

[sarah2011]

My 4.5 year old started school in Sep. She could write her name, and a few numbers and letters. She seemed to be doing well with reading and writing but fir last two weeks when writing Christmas cards, doing her diary for school nearly all of her writing is the wrong way around, In addition words she had previously spelt well now have the correct letters but they are in completely the wrong order and she doesn't see this as wrong. Could this be dyslexia, I'm going to mention it to school.

[BooOzMoo]

My DD will be 5 in April and she mirror writes but she is left handed! I thought it was just easier with the left hand.

[sarah2011]

Have the school said they are concerned or is it just one of them things that kids do x

[trixymalixy]

DD is 6 and still writes letters and numbers backwards. The school aren't worried, they say she'll get there in the end. She has no difficulty at all with spelling and my MIL who is an ex teacher doesn't think she is dyslexic.

[Ferguson]

My theory is that children this age see letters or words as 'shapes'; so just as a circle or square could be orientated in any direction, so they don't yet realise why it doesn't also apply to words.

[kimlo]

Dd2 did this for ages, the school said it was normal. Im sure it was because it was easier for her to see what she was writting, shes left handed.

[Sleepyfergus]

I always remember my dds p1 teacher (Scottish system, so just turned 5) said that at the end of of term 1 (Xmas) they are all so mentally and physically shattered, that letters and numbers end up written all sorts of ways and it was nothing to worry about. They all did it to a certain extent and it generally sorts itself out. My dd is now 6 and occasionally makes a mistake but it's pretty much done now. Most to do with concentration I think. I like the notion that a PO said about letters/numbers being a shape and that kids don't recognise they don't anything wrong

[PurpleThermalsNowItsWinter]

Ds is in year2. He is left handed. It took a lot of work but he stopped mirror writing in year1. At some point. No help I know but I've been told he has the nearest handwriting in his class so don't despair just yet.

[PurpleThermalsNowItsWinter]

Neatest. Not nearest.

[FiveGoMadInDorset]

DS mirror wrote until well into year 1 and now writes really well

[sarah2011]

Thanks everyone, I am a bit of a panicker anyway and everything you have said has made perfect sense, she is just finding her way and she's only been in school for a bit so I need to chill and leave her to it ha xxx

[Cherubneddy1]

Hi Sarah, I'm a worrier too!
I completely agree with Sleepyfergus though; my 4 yr old started school in September and was exhausted by Christmas. I feel like she has just got her energy back (and I have my little girl back) and she's about to go back.
My DD was only 4 in July and had started to make real progress with writing by the middle of term, but it dropped off by the end of term, and writing Christmas cards was a complete nightmare as she did seem to have regressed. But I'm putting it down to exhaustion.
She's struggling with her reading to the point that she can read a word such as "hat" by sounding it out, but by the next page she's no idea what it says! I was getting concerned, but talking to other mums, this is quite common.

[RandomMess]

We teach DC for years that a bus is a bus whether it is upside down or back to front, on it's side or whatever. It's then a big leap to have to learn that numbers and letter are only correct when in a certain position