Young readers and writers can often get confused with the lowercase letters b and d. This can cause young writers to reverse these letters when they go to write them. This is a very common occurrence and does not necessarily need to be a cause for alarm. The only time that this could be a cause of concern is if the child is over the age of eight and is still regularly reversing these letters.
To help ease this confusion, practice is key. To help cement these letters in a child’s mind, have the child practice writing only one letter at a time. If that letter is in the child’s name or a familiar word, you might want to start with that. For instance, you might focus only on the letter b. In this case, a plate of sand or rice could be used to practice writing the lowercase b. If you want to contain all forms of mess, shaving cream can also be added to a plastic bag and sealed. This also makes a good surface on which to practice letter making.
When making the letter b, you could also remind the child that if you add another part to the lowercase b, you can create the capital B. The goal is to trigger the child’s visual memory as to the shape of the lowercase b. When the lowercase b has been practiced several times, then you might go on to practice the lowercase d, pointing out the differences between the two letters.
For other help, keep a chart on your wall that shows the letters b and d. If you need one, download our reversal chart here.