As you and your child begin reading together more and more, you’ll find that there are some common trip-ups that may be encountered. There are some letters that are deceptively similar which most kids find confusing when they are first learning to recognize their letters. The most common of these are ‘b’, ‘d’, ‘p’, and ‘q’. Please don’t be alarmed if your child interchanges these at first; it doesn’t mean they are dyslexic. Kids frequently mix up these letters when they are first learning to read, so there’s no reason to be alarmed unless they are still mixing up these letters after a year or so of reading.
The easiest way to help your child remember the difference between these letters is to invest in an alphabet wall chart, like we discussed previously, and every time they interchange one letter for another prompt them to go look at the wall chart to tell the difference between them. For example, if your child is reading ‘d-o-g’ but can’t remember if ‘d’ is ‘b’ or ‘d’, tell them “ go up to the alphabet on the wall and tell me if it looks like ‘b’ for ball or ‘d’ for duck.” The visual aid will work wonders in helping jog your child’s memory and will also help to relax them because they’ll know they always have back-up if they decide to read on their own sometimes.
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