Reigning in ds

[newport67]

Ds is in year 1. He is very able literacy wise. Found reading easy and seems to have almost photographic memory for spelling etc. DD in year 3 finds spelling more difficult. It's hard enough for her when when she asks me to spell something and little brother spells it 1st.
Last night dd went to Cubs and had a great time. Came home with a poster she had made and ds immediately corrected her spelling.
Not sure whether I should be having a chat with him about this and if so what to say?
I am always making dd aware of her other talents but I know she feels undermined.

Yes you should have a chat with them both about it. Niether child is allowed to make adverse comments on the other's work. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Would ds like it if dd told him his art work was rubbish?

yes you should, no one likes a know it all . but just explain to him that all people are different at all sorts of things and his is spelling, and that he needs to remember not to make people feel belittled by correcting them unless they ask for advice. Give him a little example of something that he needs a little more wok on and explaqin he may feel sad or silly if someone corrected him on this all the time.

my dd is the same she often cant hep herself and does it without thinking, so I often to tell her its ok to say it or do it in your head but some things are best not said out loud in order to spare other peoples feelings, even if she is right.

not different but good is what i ment to type

I am afraid I was your ds. And while I hope I may have grown out of this behaviour, my 5 years older brother has struggled with low self esteem all his life- I am horribly afraid that I was a big part of that. He is not actually that untalented, but having spent a sizeable part of his childhood being out-clevered by a child half his size, he has never got into the habit of seeing his own strengths.

If I were my parents, I would have been stricter. A lot stricter.

In our house we have a rule that noone is allowed to make rude comments to the cook about what they are fed. It could easily be expanded to other rude comments as well.

I'd take your ds to one side and explain the whole thing in private, then I would agree on a term to use to signal when he is over-stepping the mark and make it very clear that this is now against the rules in your house and that he will be pulled up shortly and sharply every single time.

Thank you for your replies. I have had a word. I hope it has done the trick.

Be prepared to have to keep pulling him up- gently but firmly. It is not always easy for a small child to see the difference between expressing a legitimate viewpoint and putting somebody else down, so he will rely on you for that for a long time to come. Which is why I think a brief standard rebuke is a good thing to keep in your back pocket (No, ds, remember what we said about X).