Good age to be a pen pal?

[hungrypenguin]

DD is 6 and has a cousin on the other side of the world. I was thinking it would be great if they became pen pals - old fashioned writing letters to one another via snail mail. But am I right in thinking 6 is a bit young. Would 8 be about the right age? Hoping parents with older children / more experience can advise. Thanks

My DD is only 2 months but I want to chip in and say I don't see why there should be any age limit really! Even at a young age I can imagine it would be exciting for them even if its just chicken scratch and drawings

Yes they would love just getting something through the post!

What a lovely idea! At 6 the letters might not be great - so how about postcards?

I know a 5yo with a pen pal. They mostly just exchange pictures that they've drawn, but it's exciting.

I would maybe expect it to fizzle out quickly though.

Postcards to start with are a good idea. I was hoping that if they start later then they'd form a bond and it would go on for years. Maybe I'm an optimist

Could your child dictate to you and you do the actual writing? And they could add a ps or drawing or something?

I think 6 is a good age, although maybe with support from parents. Such a lovely idea.

That’s a lovely idea. I’m still in touch with my American childhood penpal now, 40 or so years later. Although we communicate by email or messenger now, I remember the excitement of getting a letter addressed to me when I was a kid!
While six is too young to write much of a letter, they could send birthday and Christmas cards with a couple of lines in. And as well as doing drawings, they could make little crafts for each other or exchange small gifts or sweets (if allowed to import/export food). You could send some postcards of your local area and exchange photos of your child, your house, your pets etc.

That's amazing @Papergirl1968 . Have you ever met your penpal in person?

Yes, once, when I went to Orlando about 15 years ago. She and her husband and kids drove down from New England and we met up for a meal.

What was that like ? Was she as you expected she'd be?

I’m still in contact with my American pen pal from when I was 14! We went on holiday with her and her (now ex) husband when we went to the States about 25 years ago, and we chat regularly on Messenger.

It was good. I was so touched that they’d driven all the way down from one end of the country to the other just for a meal with us. I can’t remember how long they said it took but I think it was three or four days!
She was very nice. We are quite alike in many ways. I guess there was a little initial awkwardness because I’m quite shy but after that we found plenty to talk about. And her husband got on well with my two brother in laws. I’d love to visit her at some point and see what her day to day life is like.