My little reader is having difficulties distinguishing between lower case b and lower case d. My older child didn't have issues with this, so I'm not sure how to help my little one better understand the difference between the two letters. Any suggestions? All are welcome...thank you
How old is your kiddo? These are letters that many children confuse. I personally do not believe the brain is ready to distinguish between the two; assuming your child is still very young. It isn't simply memorization but it is a matter of teaching the brain to recognize the letters and it just might not be ready yet.
My 6yo still has trouble with b and d. I tell her that b has the "bar" before the circle because b comes before d and d has the bar after the circle because d comes after b. It helps her and she is getting better.
it's very common confusion amount little ones. i explain to my dds, b is like a standing up person(the line) with the behind(the bubble) sticking out. and d is like daddy standing up with his belly sticking out. hope this help. good health and happiness!
My older ds (7 yo now) used to get them wrong all the time. But I didn't do anything special with him or my dd 5yo who is reading now too. Both of them have just out grown it, my dd still will get them wrong every once in a while. But not nearly as much. I correct them when they are reading/ sounding things out. And make them fix it if they write them backwards. I think correcting the writing actually helped more, because they have to focus on it.
My 8 year old still has trouble writing "b" and "d" or "p" and "q". He usually catches himself when he does it and corrects it.
I read a book once where the kid got confused by d's and b's. Her teacher used Mr. db. (A face and d was one ear and b was the other ear. The teacher suggested each kid pick a phrase that used d/b so they could remember which way the letter should go. The kid picked dumb-brain, b/c she felt dumb. (Not that I'm suggesting you use that phrase but it was the example in the book and I still remember it.) Maybe something like that would work for you.
I remember a book that used the example of "bed" The sticks on each letter look like the bed posts and the mattress is the flat line that the letters make across the middle.
Yes! That is a good one. I also would sit alongside my child, hold my left hand up making a "b" with the index finger raised, and the other fingers curved around to bake the ball. and do the "d" with the right hand in the same way. I would tell the child, a, "b" moving the left hand, c, "d" moving the right hand. It seemed to work well for my DS who pretty regularly switched the two in his writing.
I would not worry about it too much and just talk like the b or d is silly and turned the wrong way. My dh did this with my boys when they did the reverse thing. When I was a kid they just reminded me the correct way, I have what they called Mirror Vision, I still have a tendency to see them reversed and think its wrong, all my years in school if I inverted letters such as ea instead of ae in a word they reminded me to look closer at my words and all that. It took a little extra work but I did okay. IF it turns out your dc is not getting the hang of the switch you can do Bed, B is the pillow D is the foot. SO when they write a word to think book is Bed OOK This is just a trick I was taught or picked up someplace but it works!
Try this one: Hold both hands in front of you, make two fists, and stick up your index fingers. The one that looks like a "b" is on the left, the one like a "d" is on the right. The "b" comes before the "d". It's a great visual reminder that is with a kid ALL the time! (OOPS!!! That's what CarolLynn said! HEY, CAROL!!! GREAT idea! LOL!)
Brooke, Jackie those ideas are genius! I am so going to use them for my little visual bd confused girl. Anyone have suggestions for confusion over 9's and 6's?
My ds used to reverse b/d. We did several different things. I had him hold his fists with thumbs extended and going up, left hand b right hand d. I'd trace a b and a d on his fists so he could feel it. I also traced with my fingers on his back while saying it. Then when writing it, we'd say "first the bat and then the ball, b" (the stick then the round part). For d, we'd say "first the doorknob and then the door, d". It was cute to watch him doing his work alone, I could tell when he'd get to a b or a d because the thumbs would go up for a second... PS: It got way better after he learned cursive...
Thanks everyone! I hadn't even thought to ask the question, but it certainly answers a problem we have here.
lol, my 5 yr old had problems with that too, although he is a good reader, but I think it recently suddenly "clicked", and he has not had an issue with it since a few months. Like op said, he probably jsut isn't ready yet. And like jemsmom, I also tell them "b with a big Belly", and "d has a derriere" (taught them that that means "behind")
