Be empathetic.
A child’s introverted nature often
becomes more apparent once he starts7+ YEARS
HOW TO
Support Your
Introvert
by MICHELLE CROUCHHe flips letters and numbers.
Many of the errors kids make at this age
are just their way of applying the complex
language rules they’ve been absorbing.
If he writes a 3 that looks like an E or a
backward S, you might worry that
it’s an early sign of a learning disability.
But kids this age often have trouble
discriminating between letters and
numbers that look similar like a b
and a d or a 2 and a 5 , especially if they’re
working quickly. Don’t focus too much
on a mistake—it’ll just make your child
self-conscious. When you notice that
something is wrong, ask him what he
wrote, and then offer to show him how
grown-ups write it.She muddles grammar.
If your kindergartner is adding an “-ed”
to the end of every past-tense verb, you
might be hearing a lot about how she
“played-ed” with her friends. Mistakes
like this actually ref lect an improvement
in her language skills because she’s
trying to apply grammar rules. You
might notice the same kinds of errors
when she uses plurals like “mouses”
or when she refers to something as
“mine’s.” The best response is just to
model the correct pronunciation. If
she tells you she “went-ed” to the
store with Grandma, respond with, “You
went to the store with Grandma?
What did you buy?”He uses inventive spelling.
Many schools encourage 5- and 6-year-
olds to write with phonetic spelling so
they can express themselves without
worrying about technicalities. Support5 –6 YEARS
HOW TO
Understand
Common
Mistakes
by JENNIFER TEEMANyour child’s attempts by suggesting
“best-guess spelling” and trying to
sound out the letters he hears. Don’t
be as concerned about his getting it
right as you are with helping him hear
the sounds and put them together. If
you can’t decipher his spelling, have
him tell you what he wrote. If he asks
if the word is right, be honest, but
noncritical. Say, “You heard most of
the sounds, but this word has some
letters we can’t hear. Would you like
to know what those are?”She mispronounces words.
If your daughter refers to her sibling
as her “bruhver,” you don’t need to
worry about correcting her. This may
be related to the physical development
of her mouth or a misapplication of a
spoken rule she once heard. It often
happens with words that have consonant
blends (think: spl, sk, st), so she may
say “sketty” for spaghetti or “toof ” for
tooth. Again, model adult articulation
when you hear an error by repeating the
word your child said in your own
sentence. For example, “Oh, you drew a
picture of your bro-THer?” For now,
enjoy the cute snafus, and trust that
time and the learning process will
work it out.
Sources: Barbara A. Willer, Ph.D., senior advisor
at the National Association for the Education of
Young Children; Tricia Zucker, Ph.D., an expert in
language development at The University of
Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Dominic
F. Gullo, Ph.D., professor of early-childhood
education at Drexel University, in Philadelphia; Traci
Demuth-Korhonen, Ed.D., founder of Dream
AcadeME, an alternative-education program in
Los Angeles.PARENTS 150 SEPTEMBER 2019
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