# b & d - how to help a 5 year old remember which is which? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2005, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788 "2005-11-19T09:04:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/1 "2005-11-19T09:04:39Z")
China bambina is 5 1/2 and learning to read and write (both English, Chinese romanization and Chinese characters). She tends to mix up letters like “b” and “d” or write a “c” facing the wrong direction. Any tips or tricks? Bambina likes to draw a lot. When practicing, she also likes to try writing letters all different ways instead of the “standard” order. thanks ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/2 "2005-11-19T09:18:47Z")
I think young kids often don’t understand that it’s important which way a letter faces. When you look at real life objects, it doesn’t actually matter which way they go, they’re still the same object. Would it be possible to teach her to write in all caps first, then introduce the lower-case letters as “small” versions of the capital letters? I think that was how we were taught. ---
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/3 "2005-11-19T09:22:43Z")
I had to open this thread to find out why you thought a 5 year old would need to know the difference between bondage and discipline. :eek: I am SO going to hell. ---
**Author:** ![Wisp00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/977dab/32.png) [@Wisp00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisp00)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/4 "2005-11-19T09:30:35Z")
try making her a little cheat sheet with the word “bed” spelled out in lower case letters. The word looks like a bed, with the headboard, footboard, and mattress in the middle, and she can say the word out loud to help her remember which letter is which. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/5 "2005-11-19T09:32:49Z")
> [@DfrntBreign](#): > > I had to open this thread to find out why you thought a 5 year old would need to know the difference between bondage and discipline. :eek: > I am SO going to hell. Meet ya there. I don’t have any better advice than “practice”. Although I like Wisp00’s idea. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/6 "2005-11-19T09:34:43Z")
> [@Wisp00](#): > > try making her a little cheat sheet with the word “bed” spelled out in lower case letters. The word looks like a bed, with the headboard, footboard, and mattress in the middle, and she can say the word out loud to help her remember which letter is which. I like it. I’m going to sit down tonight to figure out some mnemonics or patterns that might help with the entire alphabet. DfrntBreign - yep, pretty much confirmed that you _are_ so going to hell. That or you will be blessed with triplets :o ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/7 "2005-11-19T09:34:49Z")
> [@DfrntBreign](#): > > I had to open this thread to find out why you thought a 5 year old would need to know the difference between bondage and discipline. > I am SO going to hell. > [@betenoir](#): > > Meet ya there. You’ll have company. ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/8 "2005-11-19T10:50:43Z")
As well as the bed, you can tell her to stick out her arms in front of her in a “thumbs up” gesture. Then get her to angle her fists in so the bunched up fingers face each other. Now she has a “b” fist on the left and a “d” fist on the right! You can help her remember which is which by telling her to sing the abc song - b comes first and it’s her left hand and then d, which is the other. If she is writing and gets stuck about which she wants she can make the gesture and copy the shape her hand makes. Reverse the thumbs to point downwards and you get “p” and “q”, too! ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/9 "2005-11-19T14:30:04Z")
> [@](#): > > You can help her remember which is which by telling her to sing the abc song - b comes first and it’s her left hand and then d, which is the other. Which direction does Chinese move? Down only? Or does it also have a left-to-right orientation? (To address a right-to-left language learned simultaneously with a left-to-right language, you might ask some of our Jewish scholars.) ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/10 "2005-11-19T14:31:42Z")
> [@Hokkaido Brit](#): > > As well as the bed, you can tell her to stick out her arms in front of her in a “thumbs up” gesture. Then get her to angle her fists in so the bunched up fingers face each other. > > Now she has a “b” fist on the left and a “d” fist on the right! Neat! I came in to say that I learned it _almost_ the same way, but by making an “OK” sign (your thumb and index finger making a circle) to be the “b” and “d”. I’m right-handed, so I knew my right hand was the hand that I used to draw. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/11 "2005-11-19T14:45:53Z")
Also keep in mind that this is normal and expected at five. Or at least according to both my kids kindergarten teachers. If she has the patience to learn, great. If not, she’s ahead of the curve already knowing the other letters. They practice and eventually either learn it, or outgrow the tendancy. Numbers have been trickier for both my kids to write facing the right direction. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/12 "2005-11-19T14:46:02Z")
> [@Hokkaido Brit](#): > > As well as the bed, you can tell her to stick out her arms in front of her in a “thumbs up” gesture. Then get her to angle her fists in so the bunched up fingers face each other. > > Now she has a “b” fist on the left and a “d” fist on the right! Okay, just did that with my six year-old cousin. Now we have a new problem: figuring out which is left and which is right. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/13 "2005-11-19T15:02:38Z")
> [@Stark Raven Mad](#): > > Okay, just did that with my six year-old cousin. Now we have a new problem: figuring out which is left and which is right. I learned by handedness…ok, which hand do I hold the crayon in…then the other one is right (in my case). Somehow easier to grasp than just choosing between the two sides. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/14 "2005-11-19T15:04:59Z")
That is…then she just has to learn “I’m right handed” rather than “the difference between right and left”. If that makes any sense. ---
**Author:** ![ImaginalDisc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a88e57/32.png) [@ImaginalDisc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ImaginalDisc)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/15 "2005-11-19T15:07:09Z")
Try having her ball her hands into fists, and hold them up. Ask her to straighten out her index fingers. To her, her left hand should look like a lower case d, and her right hand should look like a b. I hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/16 "2005-11-19T15:09:57Z")
I’ve been helping my son by telling him that the straight line in each letter is like a stick man. Since he knows his letter SOUNDS, I tell him that “b” has a "b"elly and “d” has a "d"erriere (and yeah, if it relates to the butt, he can remember what a derriere is!). It seems to be helping! Now if I can only get him to point the “s” in the right direction! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/17 "2005-11-19T15:25:16Z")
Left begins with L. If you hold your thumbs out and your first finger up, your Left hand makes an L. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/18 "2005-11-19T15:34:18Z")
> [@ImaginalDisc](#): > > Try having her ball her hands into fists, and hold them up. Ask her to straighten out her index fingers. To her, her left hand should look like a lower case d, and her right hand should look like a b. I hope that helps. I think you have that reversed. Or perhaps I just wasn’t meant to be able to twist my wrists that way. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/19 "2005-11-19T16:28:51Z")
Robardin’s wife: Drawing “bed” was the way I learned it at the age of 7 when it became an issue. I couldn’t read the difference between “b” and “d”. I just drew little bed’s all over after that. It also helped me with “p”, since that was the one that wasn’t in “bed”. If I recall “q” was usually typeset with a little tail in books, although it is a problem here. For writing, just regularly writing the letters on dotted versions of them is the easiest. Your hand memorizes the feel of writing the letters. Then telling which is which when reading them is an entirely different skill. There is very little of that done in schools now, so kids get lots of practice writing letters backwards. But most convenience stores have the wipeboards. Five year olds find this activity more amusing than sven year olds, so you might as well start young. My theory is that kids who keep up with backwards letters longer are math-skilled and tend to understand symmetry better. The only difficulty is that once the kid takes calculus there’s the whole confusion between epsilon and three to worry about! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788/20 "2005-11-19T16:33:45Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I think you have that reversed. Or perhaps I just wasn’t meant to be able to twist my wrists that way. Palms out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/b-d-how-to-help-a-5-year-old-remember-which-is-which/331788.md?page=2)