Backwards Numbers and Letters

[Bomper]

My dd1 is 5 (6 in January) and currently in Year 1. She is very bright and in the top group of her class and yet she still regularly writes numbers and letters back to front, IYKWIM. Is this a problem or is it quite common? Ds never did it.

DS1 still does this and he's just started Y2.

Sorry, meant to add "very common" IMO.

All my children have done this - it's normal apparently! My ds1 in Year 2 still writes his 7 backward and 5 too!

Yes very very common. I got a fright once when ds (aged five ish) wrote a string of words in neat entirely backwards mirror writing - posted about it here and was reassured. Turned out he wanted to make sure the words fitted into a particular space and this seemed to be the best way of making sure. Hasn't done it again since.

Somebody very sensibly pointed out that "a dog is a dog whichever way you look at it; when children learn to recognise/write letters they start off from the same idea - eg this is an "s" whether it points right or left".

Thanks very much for your posts - very reassuring. DD1 seems to have trouble with 3 and 5 and with l and t. Are there certain numbers and letters that children seem to write backwards or can it be any one?

Quite often you find it's left handed children who do it most & eventually grow out of it.

Also if it's a string of words they're getting wrong sometimes it's because they're not sure about which side of the page to start writing at. If they choose to go to the Right hand side they then work Right to left making everything appear back to front. Just draw a vertical red line down the Left hand side of the paper to remind them to start on the left beside the red line.

Dodsey, that's interesting - that must be exactly why my ds did it - the space he wanted the words to fit into was at the right-hand edge of the page.

Bomper, my dd (who's just five) is in this stage at the moment - her backwards ones are capital J, z, and 3. No problem with L as it's her initial.

We have probs here with 3s as well, as well as s, d & b.

He is getting better though same age as Bomper's dd, left handed as well

b & d are easy to sort out once your child is clear with his phonics. Write the word bed & then get your child to sound it out clearly so they know it starts with b & ends withd. Then draw on top of the word, making a stick man lying between the legs of b & d.

The word actually looks like a bed, if they muddle the b's & d's then it no longer looks like a man lying on a bed.

Once they have this image in their heads they know a b makes the start of a bed & a d makes the end. They should then remember which way round it goes.

Sounds complicated to explain but it's a clear image that any child can use as a tool to writing/spelling.

Dd2 (6 next week) also does this and I asked her teacher about it at the last parents meeting. She said it was completely normal and nothing to worry about.

Yes it is b, d and p that dd gets confused with.

Dodsey that's a nice neat image. I will try that with ds, who puts quite a few of his letters the wrong way. I think it's partly because he races throguh his writing (as with most things in his life). I was concerned because we have a lot of dyslexia in the family, but I've been told not to worry for a year or so (ds is 6.5)