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

[ConkerBonkers]

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

She may also have been copying. Maybe someone wrote it first and she looked at it and copied it. Mine had much better writing when she was copying and looking at a sample than when she wrote freehand.

As her and George are so close in age, it's possible she started writing earlier than he would have because she wanted to do what her big brother was doing.

I'm the youngest of 4 and could write reasonably well by the time I started school because I was insistent on doing 'homework' when my siblings were.

Some of the children could definitely do this in my children's class at the same age. I remember getting a thank you note for a 5 year old's birthday party and being a bit shocked as my child had barely managed her own name on the card.

I teach Year 1, 5 or 6 of the children in my class can write like this.

I really don’t think it’s Charlottes writing. The actual word Charlotte is a lot messier (but still great) so I think she dictated it and then signed her own name

I think it's brilliant for a 5yo. DS has been taught cursive since P1 but his motor skills were not that great to start with, so I would say he could only write like that in P4, not any earlier than that.
Given that royal children have access to the best education and the best support at home, I'm not really surprised. You wouldn't believe the progress my DS made when we really focused on his fine motor skills and put the work in and I'm not exactly a Norland nanny or a teacher!

@stegosaurus12

It looks exactly like George's writing, I'm not convinced it's hers!

Teachers at my children's school found an exercise book in the cupboard and thought, based on the writing, that it belonged to DS2. On closer inspection they were most surprised to find it belonged to DS1, who had been in that class in the previous year! Apparently the boys have almost identical handwriting, year for year. So I wouldn't rule anything out!

I think it's her writing, she's had a lot of attention paid to her and so would naturally thrive I should think.

• GNCQ

It's cursive writing.

They don't normally even start teaching that until a child is 8 years old.

It's no way Charlotte's writing.*

Both mine were taught cursive writing as soon as they started school (state school).

I believe it is her handwriting - it is neat and legible for a five year old - I imagine she was trying her best to be neat for a special card, and she has had an exclusive education -and presumably a lot of one to one during home learning.

Does anyone else find the idea of young children writing cards to a dead grandmother they have never known a little uncomfortable ? I think it confuses children and is for the benefit of adults rather than the children themselves.

It looks like my 6 year olds (yr 2 youngest in year), it's very neat but some people naturally are.

My friend has a 6 year old apparent 'boy genius' at a London public school and his is nothing like this.

No way did she write that

Some will be writing like that aged 5 and some will not.

Just shows how bloody aspirational Mumsnet is: comparing your kids’ handwriting to that of an actual, real-life princess, with (effectively) a stay-at-home mother, a ludicrously expensive education and a nanny and god knows whatever other resources.

You simply cannot compete, so don’t try!

It's lovely writing, my writing was very neat (but not cursive) when I was 5 as I recently found some old school books of mine.

I was more surprised that Louis was able to trace over his name as my 3 year old cant do that and he isn't yet 3.

Different school teach handwriting in different ways. If taught joined writing from Reception then this is an example of good penmanship in Year 1. Princess Charlotte is nearly 6, so she is in Year 1.

Who do Charlotte and George's messages look like they were written by the same hand?

My 6yo has beautiful cursive writing. She is comparable to this in style, still makes spelling mistakes though.

It's lovely handwriting, (if it's hers!), but beautiful handwriting doesn't mean the child's exceptionally clever or anything like that, it just means they've got neat handwriting! My brother, (who is a published writer), and my DD, (who is at GS), both have shockingly bad handwriting. Everything they write is spelt and punctuated correctly but so damn scruffy!!!
When DD was at primary school, a couple of girls in her class had absolutely beautiful handwriting - neither of them was remotely academic. Interestingly, they were both good at art, I suspect there's a link?

@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.

What a weird comment. What on earth has a nine year old to do with what a five year old can do?

I have a reception age 5 child and her hand writing is pretty similar to this. She love writing and reading. I think the fact they now learn cursive makes it look a lot smarter. She also is encouraged to join letters.

My daughters (age 13 and 10) both wrote in my mother's day card. Their writing is so similar. I could tell who wrote what (after months of home learning). DH got it wrong. Not impossible for siblings to have similar writing.

DD1 - yes
DD2 - no

Same school, different talents - and they do both have talents, as do all children

Private education nanny raising them at home, at not surprised.
I should imagine the only input from the parents though is the odd photo shoot.

My DS is 6 in year 1.
His writing is pretty much like this, although he does pre-cursive letters (with whooshing in and out) and doesn't join them yet. They haven't actually taught the pre-cursive handwriting yet (I think because of lockdown) but he has picked it up from his phonics group (mainly with year 2 children) and copying the teachers.
He could spell all of that independently too and remember the apostrophe. He's above average in reading and writing and bordering on gifted in maths.

He's at a normal state school so I completely believe this is Charlotte's own work.

My Dd was fairly bright at that age but didn't write like that. DS is 11 and doesn't write anywhere near that neatly.