Why Is My Child Writing Letters Backwards?

Writing letters and numbers backwards is common in young children, often up to about age seven. Letters are the first things a child meets where the direction changes what a shape means. Teach one letter or number at a time, always starting at the same place and moving the same way. If it is still happening often after age seven, or along with other reading troubles, tell the teacher.

1Why children write letters backwards

A chair is still a chair when it faces the other way. For most of life, direction does not change what a thing is. Letters are different. b, d, p and q are the same shape turned around, and the number 3 or 7 can be flipped and still look almost right to a young child.

So a backwards letter usually means your child has not yet learned that letters only face one way. It is a normal step, and it is not on its own a sign of a reading problem or of dyslexia.

2Which letters and numbers get flipped most

The ones that are flipped most are b and d, p and q, and s, j and z. With numbers, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 are the usual ones. These all have a round part or a hook that can face either way.

Look at what your child writes over a week, not one day. Write down which letters or numbers come out backwards. Most children have only a few. That short list is what you practice.

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3What to do this week

Pick one letter or number from your list. Show your child where to start and which way to go, and say it out loud each time: for 3, start at the top, go round, round again. The same words every time help the hand learn the move.

Practice that one shape for a few minutes a day, big first, in the air or with a finger on the table, then with a pencil. Only add the next letter or number when the first one comes out right most times. Never practice the two letters that get mixed, such as b and d, side by side at the start.

4When to tell the teacher

Tell the teacher if your child is still writing many letters backwards often after about age seven, or if the backwards letters come with other troubles, such as not knowing letter sounds or finding reading very hard.

Backwards letters alone do not show dyslexia. Dyslexia is about trouble with the sounds in words and with reading words. If you are worried, ask the school what their reading checks show.

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Quick tips

Practice one letter or number at a time, never the two that get mixed together.
Use the same start point and the same words every time you write it.
Go big first: in the air, in sand, or with a finger, then with a pencil.
Keep it short: a few minutes a day is enough.
Praise the right direction, and quietly fix a flip without a fuss.

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Good questions

Is writing letters backwards a sign of dyslexia?

Not on its own. Many children write letters backwards while they learn, often up to about age seven. Dyslexia is about trouble with the sounds in words and with reading words. If backwards letters come with those troubles, talk to the teacher.

Why does my child write numbers backwards too?

Numbers are shapes that face one way, just like letters. 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 are often flipped. Teach each one alone, with the same start point and the same words each time.

Should I correct every backwards letter?

No. Pick one letter or number to work on, and fix that one calmly. Correcting everything at once makes writing feel hard and does not help the hand learn faster.

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