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Trouble with Letters at Age 4 

By Ellen Booth Church   
   

It is quite normal for children who are 4 to have trouble recognizing and writing letters. It is only in recent years that children have been asked to learn letters this young. Some schools are now expecting children to learn letters sooner, but these expectations do not reflect the abilities of children at this developmental stage.

Reading and writing takes good visual, auditory, and small motor skills. During the 4-year-old year, children are building the "muscles" they need to read and write. Many children at 4 may not be mature enough to see the difference between a B and a D or to hear the difference either. Of course, if they can't see the difference between the letters, they will have a hard time writing them too. But 12 to 18 months later, these same children may be ready to learn the letters without struggle or confusion.

Children are usually first interested in the letters of their name, so often these are the letters 4 year olds learn to read and write. At this stage of development children will begin to notice letters on signs and in books. You may notice that your child recognizes STOP on a sign or sees a letter from his name in a sign or book. These are appropriate ways children learn not only the letters but also the practical usefulness of letters. Kids this age can learn to listen for sounds of letters in songs, games, and books.

Rhyming is very compelling for 4 year olds, particularly with nonsense words and sounds. Writing at this stage should be large, with big pieces of paper and writing implements. At this stage, children are learning the "feel" of the letters more than the perfect reproduction.

It is best to play with letters and sounds at this stage so that your child does not see them as hard work. All your play will pay off when his skills mature next year. If you focus on activities that play with letter sounds, recognition, and rhymes, you will be providing the groundwork for next year (and beyond) when your child will be learning to work with letters. For example:

• Go on a letter hunt around the house or the neighborhood.
• Write letters in finger-paint.
• Make up nonsense rhymes with family names by changing the first letter. (Mom can become Bom, Com, Dom, Lom, Rom, Tom, and so on.)
• Read books ... lots and lots of books. This is the best alphabet preparedness activity you can do. Look for familiar letters. Notice words that are similar in their beginning or ending sound. As you read your child will be making the connection between the printed letters and the spoken word.     There is plenty of time to learn these skills in the next few years.