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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Aibu does anyone else have a five year old who writes like this?

407 replies

ConkerBonkers · 14/03/2021 21:38

I am blown away by Charlotte's handwriting, she is only five. Surely this is preternaturally advanced? Link below.

My own DC who is also five cannot write like this, and I thought his writing was great...feeling bad about my homeschool skills!

Please put my mind at rest!

news.sky.com/story/george-charlotte-and-louis-make-cards-for-granny-diana-on-mothers-day-12245781

OP posts:
Thread gallery
13
OnlyToWin · 15/03/2021 08:47

It’s not either be creative OR have good handwriting.

Being able to form accurately when writing frees the brain space and time taken up thinking about how to form each letter and allows the child to use the creative part of their brain because their writing then flows. Being stuck at letter level does not help their creativity at all. Also a font with entry strokes is pushed by Beat Dyslexia because it means each letter is started from the same point, so less confusion and less reversals than printing. I am a massive advocate for handwriting!! Can you tell?😂😂😂

Subordinateclause · 15/03/2021 08:47

The people who are insistent that she didn't write it, are you imagining she just sat down and bashed it out? I think most teachers are probably thinking that she wrote it in rough first, it was perhaps corrected and then she copied it. Children's writing improves immeasurably with lots of modelling, discussion and editing. We found writing the thing that was hit hardest with home learning as parents, understandably, don't know the steps to go through with children to get them to produce hugh quality writing. When a child brings in a little story they've written in their bedroom, it's usually lacking in any punctuation and nowhere near the quality of work they'd produce under close supervision at school. Also, if you are comparing your reception child to Charlotte in Y1, they progress massively in a year.

Knitterbabe · 15/03/2021 08:49

Possibly the Kisses looking like + signs is because she has been doing lots of addition ‘sums’ and it came more naturally to her to do this.
If the Palace were trying to convince us that she is advanced, would someone not change the kisses?

CecilyP · 15/03/2021 09:11

Anyway my 2 cents is that it is a very consistent handwriting style - eg each y looks very similar, each a, even the angle of the dot over each i, and the m's are consistent but not usual cursive style. So my guess is that it is a well-practised personal style of handwriting rather than a 'learner' handwriting - compare it to George's note where the different instances of each letter are less consistent. The crosses at the end of Charlotte's note look more like learner writing. So I think it was probably a joint effort with a helpful grown up. Not that that means anything negative about Charlotte or the grown-up, and of course I could be wrong! But on balance of probability, not a young child's writing I reckon.

I agree with this rather forensic analysis. When you look at George’s writing, it is also very neat but much more what you would expect of a Y3 with neat writing. With Charlotte’s piece, it’s not so much the neatness but the fluency which makes it look like the writing of someone who has written a lot. And the letter m’s are very distinctive, very regular and not cursive. Would a school insistent on cursive not have corrected this?

Several posters have shown very impressive pictures of their young DCs neat writing but they still all look like young children’s writing - they have a certain deliberation about them. Charlotte’s piece looks like it has been written quickly with no deliberation.

CecilyP · 15/03/2021 09:24

For comparison’s sake, Whatty’s DD’s writing on page 9 is very good, but still shows the deliberation of a child learning to write. Her kisses are also a lot more impressive than Charlotte’s

MullinerSpec · 15/03/2021 12:43

Looks about right for a 5 year old, well it is when compared to my family if nieces and nephews, who were encouraged to write from an early age as were my sisters and I.

Shineonyoucrazy · 15/03/2021 13:24

My kids school taught cursive handwriting in Reception - the R Teacher had taught in Spain for years (Cambridge's Nanny is Spanish I think?). I'm convinced that Charlotte had substantial help with the content and spelling though I do believe that given the right teaching this is her handwriting.

SomeRandomerOnBumsnet · 15/03/2021 15:10

@littlepattilou

Yeah, that's not her handwriting.

According the the school. my DD had the reading and writing skills of a 14 y.o. when she was 9 (stealth brag sorry, but it's true.) And was academically very bright. (Still is.) And her writing was nothing like that at 5.

Perhaps as your DD so bright, she can teach you what the word 'stealth' means..
PumpkinPieAlibi · 15/03/2021 15:40

I think it's average - good but our education system is different here.

ForwardRanger · 15/03/2021 15:46

perhaps as your DD so bright, she can teach you what the word 'stealth' means
😂 no stealth about it, it's a shameless threadjack.

Besides writing skills at that age are about the skill of writing in different styles (creative, narrative etc), quite separate to letter formation.

ImInStealthMode · 15/03/2021 15:52

I think mine was fairly similar when I was that age but writing was my 'thing' and always has been. I'd always rather handwrite than type. BUT I'd probably have struggled to add 2+2 together at the same age and am not all that much better with numbers even now.

That said, Charlotte's writing is significantly better than my 39 year old DP's Hmm.

randomsabreuse · 15/03/2021 16:01

My 5 yo (Y1) has similarly neat handwriting if she tries (cards) but hasn't been taught cursive. She can copy sophisticated drawings from the like of art 4 kids and has great pen control so can believe that she would have similar handwriting if taught cursive.

5 yo always had fab fine motor skills, picked up a stray peppercorn at 7 months old, doing "proper" Lego from 3 so it's not out of the range I would expect.

She went from fist grip scribble to detailed drawing overnight about a term into reception...

skeggycaggy · 15/03/2021 16:03

You can be bright and still have shit handwriting...

Sparklybanana · 15/03/2021 16:07

@MrsTabithaTwitchit

Actually it is because the Day does not belong to one mother it belongs to mothers plural so it should be after the ‘s’ not before
You’d be right normally, but apparently it is a day for ‘your mother’ and not all mothers so it’s mother’s day. I only know this because I thought I’d got it wrong on my card when actually it was right. This never happens.....

I think it’s possible for Charlotte to write like this but neither of mine could write their names in a normal size at two like Louis!

MrsBobDylan · 15/03/2021 16:12

Isn't it just a dexterity thing? My eldest is bright with illegible handwriting.

He was given his 'pen license' on the day he left primary school as a joke because his writing still didn't warrant being allowed to write in anything other than pencil Grin He finds everything else about school piss easy and enjoys teaching himself science at the weekends Confused

itsgettingwierd · 15/03/2021 17:17

@AleynEivlys

My daughter is now 6 and in Year 1, and has lovely handwriting. Some of the others do and some don't - the scale is massive.

Hope it doesn't seem like I am boasting by posting this photo; how tidy a child's handwriting is probably one of the least important things ever at this age. I just didn't want my claims to have no evidence backing them up! Smile

That's beautiful writing. She clearly has great fine motor skills.

And it's fine to be proud of what your child can do.

MargaretThursday · 15/03/2021 17:25

My 3 dc, one could write like that (and still has beautiful writing) and the other two couldn't.

But when dd1 was in reception they put huge emphasis on handwriting. They did pages of practicing single letters, common combinations, and full words.
The other two there was far less handwriting practice and their handwriting is less good accordingly. And the one where there was least handwriting practice is the least neat.

In all honesty I thought it was a waste of time spending time looking at cursive writing in reception, but looking at my dc's writing, maybe I was wrong. It certainly seems to have paid off for her.

The little crosses for kisses amused me, because my cousin used to do the same.

AleynEivlys · 15/03/2021 17:34

@itsgettingwierd Thanks! I'm very proud of her, as she's worked really hard on her handwriting over lockdown and improved massively. Last parents' evening around the start of Y1 they said she needed to work on the size of her letters (they were quite neat, but huge). It suddenly just seemed to click! Smile

Mumofsend · 15/03/2021 19:07

My 6 year old, year 1 DD's. Her 1-1 writes it out and she copies hence the spelling. There is a huge variety at this stage.

Aibu does anyone else have a five year old who writes like this?
VanillaIce · 15/03/2021 19:14

I don’t know why everyone on here seems to think a private education gives you magical handwriting. Charlotte is just talented in that area I think. There’s no way they have faked that. It’s just a lovely skill she has.

Her older brother’s handwriting is quite different and he is older. This is normal. Boys generally have far less fine motor control at this stage. My son has been privately educated and still has poor handwriting despite being a clever clogs. His writing seems fairly typical among his peers - equally bad!

Dutchesss · 15/03/2021 19:15

They teach cursive from Y1 in my children's(not private) primary. There are a few with writing almost as neat as Charlotte, so it seems very believable. George's looks more consistent with his age, missing some of the joins on his Fs and Ys.

SmokedDuck · 15/03/2021 19:16

It's quite good but I have seen a few children who can write that well. It's a combination of good motor skills for the age and an adult willing to teach one to one.

SmokedDuck · 15/03/2021 19:19

@MargaretThursday

My 3 dc, one could write like that (and still has beautiful writing) and the other two couldn't.

But when dd1 was in reception they put huge emphasis on handwriting. They did pages of practicing single letters, common combinations, and full words.
The other two there was far less handwriting practice and their handwriting is less good accordingly. And the one where there was least handwriting practice is the least neat.

In all honesty I thought it was a waste of time spending time looking at cursive writing in reception, but looking at my dc's writing, maybe I was wrong. It certainly seems to have paid off for her.

The little crosses for kisses amused me, because my cousin used to do the same.

I work in literacy, and there has been a lot less emphasis on handwriting over the years. And it impacts the students negatively a lot more than people think, they can't write without effort so they avoid it, and their reading suffers as well because the writing practice cements many reading skills.
mybonnieliesovertheocean2 · 15/03/2021 19:25

My DS is at a private prep and has been learning cursive handwriting since he started. He has just turned 6 and writes like Charlotte as do his school friends. He is sent home with a handwriting book as part of his homework. Obviously some DC are neater than others

Dollywilde · 15/03/2021 19:27

Just looked at something my mum sent me from when I was in Y2. By comparison my Y2 handwriting is about the same standard (I was a classic ‘advanced’ kid who wound up beautifully mediocre 😂) so - as others have said - I’d say for all their privilege that’s about right,

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