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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to refuse to let DD send this letter

29 replies

MmeLindt · 15/07/2010 12:28

unless she corrects it.

"Dear

me having a greit time but me not happy ven you not here... "

because she and her friends have a strange habit of saying "me" instead of "I".

I am not bothered about the spelling mistakes but "me happy" "me want" etc

Do you correct the spelling when your DC write cards?

OP posts:
maktaitai · 15/07/2010 12:30

Mmmm. How old is your dd?

I don't correct spelling and grammar, no, but ds is only 6 and an extremely reluctant writer, so any writing is good IMO! He and his friends also use the wrong case pronoun, and IIRC so did I - I had a weird dialect with a close friend of mine that used to drive my family mad, but one day when we were about 7 we started using it as usual, then looked at each other and stopped. Never used it again.

NewTeacher · 15/07/2010 12:31

how old is she?

Blu · 15/07/2010 12:33

If it's something she and her friends do between themselves but know what the correct grammar is then I wouldn't correct it.

ActuallyMyNamesMarina · 15/07/2010 12:34

YABU - either correct grammar and spelling or leave them both.

YANBU about the use of me instead of I. It drives me potty

Original poster
MmeLindt · 15/07/2010 12:47

She is 8yo.

She knows that me and I are not interchangeable as I tell her 1500000 times a day.

She is not writing an awful lot as she only started school at 6yo.

Should I correct her spelling then?

OP posts:
jeee · 15/07/2010 12:49

When my 9 year old sends her friends letters I'm not allowed to see what she's written, because she says, quite correctly, it's a private letter. I certainly wouldn't interfere with a letter between friends.

scurryfunge · 15/07/2010 12:49

It'll be a deliberate usage of a "code" designed to alienate adults and appear cool.....much like text-speak or any slang. I would ignore it and check that it isn't creeping into school work.

ActuallyMyNamesMarina · 15/07/2010 12:51

I would, but I'm a picky pedantic mare drives me mad in UK schools where spelling is only corrected in literacy lessons.

FGS how are children meant to learn to spell if they are noot helped/corrected/taught to use a dictionary?

mustrunmore · 15/07/2010 12:51

I have an adult, very intelligent, friend who uses 'me' instead of 'I' on texts. Drives me insane

Original poster
MmeLindt · 15/07/2010 13:58

Mustrunmore
Yuk. Just yuk.

Jeeee
She showed it to me, I did not ask to see it

OP posts:
flibbertigibbert · 15/07/2010 14:01

I couldn't read that without imagining a Jamaican accent.

Sounds like a very annoying habit which I would try to break her away from.

Bramshott · 15/07/2010 16:15

I would mentally do this but just leave it up to her TBH (DD1 is 7, and has an irritating habit of talking to her friends in a 'baby' voice !)

ShirleyKnot · 15/07/2010 16:20

Girls are generally just mad aren't they?

It's her and her friends' "shorthand" I suspect. You know, like in our family, we bark "You're an IDIOT!" in a NY accent a la Judge Judy. It's a bonding exercise, and doesn't actually mean anything...

er...bit like "so and so, for example, is a twat" and "Sisterwife boltgun" are MN "shorthands"

BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Don't correct her!

And that is the end of this really strange post.

edam · 15/07/2010 16:26

I'm a professional pedant (as in, a writer and editor) and I wouldn't correct private letters between ds and his friends. None of my business really. Children have always had their own private slang.

(Mind you, I did get rather alarmed when ds and his friend started issuing written death threats to each other. Fortunately it turned out they were writing as Star Wars characters - only being five at the time this really wasn't coming across very clearly to adult readers. )

Bobbalina · 15/07/2010 16:28

i would correct school work / homework but if your dd isn't asking for your help on this letter to her friend I would let her do her own thing here.

I think it is very positive that she is writing a letter at all and wouldn't want her to be put off by adult interference!!

scurryfunge · 15/07/2010 16:28

My DS finishes every phone conversation to his mates with "I love you". Makes me laugh (he is 15).

Original poster
MmeLindt · 15/07/2010 16:29

I am a bit paranoid about letter writing anyway, as we had a problem with one of her friends this term.

Ok. Will stop censoring her post but I cannot ignore the "me" baby talk. They call each other Diddyboo and Diddypoochie or something equally ridiculous.

Boys are much easier. They just issue death threats or punch each other.

OP posts:
ShirleyKnot · 15/07/2010 16:30

me fink you doing right fing.

PhoneIssues · 15/07/2010 16:31

I often talk about myslef in the third person. And use the term "slef".

Original poster
MmeLindt · 15/07/2010 16:32

Fangs, Shirl. Luv u.

OP posts:
thumbwitch · 15/07/2010 16:38

You'm been ver unreasonable to censor she letterz!

Funny things, aren't they - let 'em do it how they like, so long as they know how to do it properly, it doesn't matter if they break the "rules" in special letters to their special friends.

Am a bit worried about the death threats in boys' letters though... I have that to come!

ShirleyKnot · 15/07/2010 16:38

wuv oo too choccylovepuddle.

mwah

x

slhilly · 15/07/2010 16:45

As she clearly knows that using me instead of I is not right and is doing it as a code, I would definitely not correct that. She's just playing with language. I think that's a healthy thing. (I also think it's up to her what she calls her friends. I don't think it sounds ridiculous that they use terms like Diddyboo, it just sounds childish. Good job she's a child )

I would, however, offer to help her with the spelling, where she may not know that she's making mistakes. But I would make it an offer.

StripeyMoon · 15/07/2010 16:45

scurry I think they must listen to Scott Mills.

Rollmops · 15/07/2010 16:59

Why would anyone not correct the spelling and grammar? Unless the mistakes are highlighted, how would the children know that they are using incorrect grammar etc. and how would they learn not to make the same mistakes again?

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