Helping DS1 get his ds and bs right?

[NotQuiteCockney]

DS1 is 5, and doing well at writing, but struggling with his ds and bs. We're practicing writing them, but frankly he struggles a bit with recognising them, anyway.

How can I help?

same as my DS.. his yr1 teacher used to get him to make a fist with the thumb sticking up.

left was b, right d...she got him to learn and use his fists to help him recognise.

Did help.

Make fists with both hands, fingers facing you. Hold your thumbs upwards. "b" is on left and "d" is on right.

Cross posts!

My dd (just 6) is struggling with this too - even the b in her name (which she's been able to write correctly for a couple of years) has become a d recently. Not sure what to do about it - I've talked about the letter b looking as though it has a big belly, and that big and belly both start with b...silly perhaps but it has given her a visual image to help her remember when she's writing

You could try using a spoken clue as he writes....

For b say "First the bat and then the ball" writing the downward stroke on "first the bat", then up and round on "then the ball". It helps if he can visualise the bat and ball, so draw him a little picture with a cricket bat and ball representing the b, teach him the phrase (emphasising the 'ba' sound), then practise writing.

For d say "Round goes the drum, then lift the stick, and DOWN!" writing the circular shape on 'round goes the drum', upwards stick on 'lift the stick' and downward stroke on 'and down'. Again, draw a picture of a drum and beater forming the shape of a d for him to visualise. You can also make the shape with his arms, doing a good bang on the downward stroke iyswim

Oooh, I like the spoken cues, but he likes the fists. Either way, we have some good techniques, thanks guys! I knew someone on here would have ideas!

It can help to write 'bed' - if it's the right way round it looks like a bed, but deb makes the bed too short to sleep on. Some of our children have a card with it written on on their desks as a visual aid.

ATM, apparently one of DS1's teachers likes that method, but it doesn't appear to have worked. Well, they don't have cards, but they have the idea.

The fists and thumbs thing seems to be working. He at least is remembering which fist is which letter, which I didn't expect him to do.

I wouldn't stress too much about this. It's a normal developmental stage for a lot of children.
The following from here
"For this reason, many children reverse figures and 'b'/ 'd' well into their sixth year without this meaning that they are developing dyslexic difficulties. It is all very normal at this stage. Some, indeed, develop 'mirror writing' at the age of five or six which can be quite disconcerting to watch, but usually sorts itself naturally by the age of seven."

It can continue to the age of 8 according to other reports. My children all reversed their letters usually b,d,p,q. I was given the example of a bus. If we see a bus, it is still a bus whether it faces one way or the other way or even if it was on it's roof. Eventually, children work out which way round is correct.

Oh, I'm not worried, I just want to help him get better at it. I know that these sorts of things are dyslexia-like, but figured if it was actual dyslexia, his teachers would have said as much.