to wonder if DS aged 4 1/2 should be able to write his own name...?

[superv1xen]

...went for tea at my friends house earlier who has got a little DD who will be 4 in january. she is at nursery part time and DS started full time school in sept this year.

they had the pens and paper out and my friend proudly announced that her DD "can write her own name now!" her DD then proceeded to do so, not only accurately but pretty neatly, my face looked like this >>>> she then started drawing underneath her name and drew a recognisable person.

DS can barely even draw a face (as in 2 dots for eyes and a line for a mouth in a circle IYSWIM) let alone a full person and he can't write any letters yet, let alone his name (although he does recognise letters, ie C for cat etc)

and i was just wondering should he be at that level? esp as friends DD is almost a whole year younger? he has recently had his first parents evening and his teachers seem happy with him.

Don't worry - if they didn't tell you any worries at parents evening then im sure all is fine.

Also girls tend to be further ahead with this kind of thing.

If you're worried though why not ask his teacher what you can do to improve his fine motor skills etc? Or in fact there have been some good lists on MN before.

dd couldn't do any of this and just started p1 in sept.

she has just started in the last week or so writing her name and progressing at drawing.

she basically went from nothing to ten steps ahead in a week or two.

don't worry, its quite normal.

Childrens abilities vary so much at this age, some can write their name and others can't. Really, your DS sounds very very normal and I've worked with a fair few children of his age.

my friend does sit with her DD a lot and does things like drawing, writing and numbers with her at home, whereas i have to admit to never um, hardly ever doing that with DS, he doesn't like to anyway he would much rather be playing with his cars or outside, i have tried to get him drawing etc but he just isnt interested. i do read to him though which he enjoys.

I think at 4 they should at least be able to attempt writing their name i.e. have an idea of the letters involved and have a go at forming them on the page.

Both my DC's learnt to write their names in the nursery class of their school and could do so legibly at 3 1/2 although in fairness they both have short names

DS who is now in reception is very good at drawing (much better than DD who is yr 1) as a result of which he has very good handwriting. DD still struggles with letter formation and her writing is not always legible and no one seems concerned so I don't think I would worry.

Do not stress. Apparently Stephen Hawking could't read until he was seven!

Don't worry about it. I'm a teacher, and I bet he'll be able to write his name by the time he finishes his first year at school in July. A lot of children cannot write their name when they start school, and boys in particular have trouble doing this. Personally I don't think they should be pushed into it. Some children of this age just don't have the fine motor skills for writing yet. It will come with time. Plus, my niece could write he name aged 3, with letters perfectly formed and beautifully neat. She's now nearly 10 and has really scruffy handwriting! And as for drawings, aged 5 my brother could just about draw a circle with 2 eyes, and that was his 'person.' Now 31 he has a first class degree and an excellent job, so lack of early drawing skills really did not hold him back!

I help in a year R class.

Today all the children were assessed by teacher to see if they could write their own names. Less than half could, so he is not alone!!

DD could write her own name (neatly) around the time of her 3rd birthday. DS is 4.5 and in reception and still can't. I'm not worried, he'll get there.

The children have all written their names up in DD's Reception class. Less than half have produced anything vaguely recognisable, and only about half of those were "fully correct".

DS couldn't write his name until he was 4.8. DD could do it at 3.5. I would imagine they will work on it at school.

Do not worry.

What you do is largely irrelevant - I have 2 kids - have brought them up exactly the same way and they have developed at different rates.

FWIW my DS is 4.8 and can write all the letters in his name, but he will not be bothered about the order they are in .

my DD is the same. she really struggles with the drawing/writing side of school. her teachers did raise the issue at parents evening with me because she holds the pencil wrong. DD is left handed and still holds the pencil in a baby grip (pencil held in palm of hand) and also changes hands.

if you are worried ask the teachers to check pencil grip and give you tips on correct way to hold pencil, and they should be able to show you games to play to improve fine motor skills.

dont worry too much about it, i was really worried as all other children seem to be able to do it but teachers reassured me DD will get there in her own time.

Am trying to remember if DS could write his name at 4.5. I think he would at least have tried although it wouldn't have been neat at all. He didn't do any drawings that resembled anything until he was about 4.

DD is 5 and a bit and can write her name abd has been able to since she was about 3. But she has been more interested in drawing/writing sooner. DS could ride his bike with no stabilisers at 4.5. DD did the smallest bit ever with no stabilisers at the weekend and is not a natural .

DS is now nearly 7 and loves drawing, is doing v well at school etc. I really wouldn't worry.

I realise that is an annoyingly glib type of remark for me to make . Thinking about DD's reception class (who all have birthdays between September and December) most of them probably can 't write their name reliably. DD is possibly the odd ball .

I think he should either be able to do it or be working towards it.

DD was able to write her name at just before 4, but this was probably due to preschool encouraging them to label their pictures and other creations

She has actually regressed since starting school and now reverses a letter repeatedly so i think learning early indicates nothing

DD rechristened herself at that age to Spot.
She couldn't or didn't want to write her whole name (seven letters) so signed everything M. (her spot name)

Suppose this is much easier if your name is something like Ben or Sam or Amy. I reckon Anastasia and Sebastian and Evangeline might take a little longer to write their names :)

DS1 was 5 in August, he's Y1, and it's only really in the past few months that his writing and drawing has started to look legible.
DS2 is 3 1/2, still just does scribbles. He always points at them and makes a sound (he has very delayed speech - more like a 12-18 month old) to tell me what he's drawn. It's largely guesswork on my part of course I just nod and smile and say, 'ooh, is it a spider?' or suchlike.

My ds is same age and it's very hit and miss. He is certainly getting there however.

From what I can see on the classroom walls just over half can write their names well - a mix of boys and girls. But i don't know how much help they had!

Would not worry too much. But I would try to practise a bit with him when he's in the mood for writing. That's what I'm doing anyway. (whilst trying not to worry or compare!)

DS1 started Reception when he was just 4 yrs old. He couldn't read or write his own name because there was no way I was going to push it as he was starting school at such a young age. In my eyes, nursery is for playing NOT reading & writing.

DS2 will be 4.5 when he starts school and I'm sure will be able to write his name and read the odd word. This is partly due to him being slightly older but more because he's just so desperate to be like his big brother

Seriously not an issue! Reception teachers do not expect children to be able to write their names, honestly. Some can, some can't, no problem. Many teachers ime have to re-teach some children as they have been taught to write their names in capitals.

Please don't worry op.