My daughter is 3 1/2 yrs old- should she be able to write her name?

Question

My daughter's day care says they want to move her to the 4 yr old room and they cant b/c she cant write her name on her own. Should she be able to? She can identify the letters and trace them.

Answer 1

wow, what kind of place is this. At 3 and a half, their fine motor skills are not all that great yet. The average 3 1/2 yr old can draw circles, squares and trace. My son is 3 1/2. He does know how to write out most numbers but he successfully did this just 2 weeks ago and I was suprised. All my friends children are 3 1/2- 4 and none of them can write out their name. Don't sweat it. It's not your daughter...it's them!

Answer 2

She should be able to do it any time if she is identifying and tracing the letters. Just work with her every night and she'll pick it up in no time.

I teach 4 year old preschool and most of mine can write their first names on their own when they enter my room. A lot of times they need a name tag to help them but they can write the letters. About 1/2 can do it without the name tag. By the end of the year they can write the first and last without any assistance.

Take Care. SD

Answer 3

The quality of a child's handwriting has gone down the drain since daycares started teaching them to write. Everything a daycare teaches a child about writing between the ages of 3 and 5 is backwards. They're trying to get them to use lowercase letters, and these kids are not develomentally ready to do it. Daycares also do not correct bottom to top writing, which is a huge pain to fix in future years. Once in kindergarten, everything has to be fixed. Some kids will develop the right skills, others need so much help it's crazy. If daycares would just stop trying to make kids do so much, they would be a lot better off.

So no, a 3 and a half year old does not need to write her name. The only requirements (that are supposed to be used) for moving up to offical preschool; Being emotionally ready, developmentally ready (can she color? Knows some shapes, sit for a story, sit and feed herself, use the toilet and wash hands alone? What else do they need to know?) and almost no more accidents.

If YOU want to help her start writing, and doing it the right way, get her the "handwriting without tears program," for her age level. It's very cheap, and prevents reversals from the start. We love it!

Good luck, tell your daycare to chill out a little!

Answer 4

At 3 1/2 years old, knowing her letters and identifying them is an accomplsihment. Writing her name will come soon. By the time she reaches Kinder she should be able to say and Identify her letters, and be able to count to 100, read basic words like cat & dog friend and like, and should be writing her name legibly.

It is unfortunate that our children are expected to perform these tasks earlier and earlier now rather than using Kinder as a way to get used to going to school and learning to interact with other children. And sometimes a child is simply not ready for these tasks when they are expected to be.

Make a game of it with your child; learning to write her name and identify letters and numbers. Make it fun, and don't worry if she's right on top of it. She will catch up quickly when she enters Kinder.
I was a full time stay at home mom with my first daughter and I had a lot of time to spend with her on her letters and numbers and reading and everything (it is sad that not every mom has this opportunity these days), anyways, as a result, my daughter was reading simple sentences, knew her letters and numbers and how to write her name, address and such. People don't believe me when I tell them that my daughter was able to spell "psychoanalytical" at the age of 4, but she did. ( I was in college studying around her all the time.)

Enjoy your baby while you can, School will make her grow up fast.

Answer 5

she may be demonstrating to her self that she is ultimately the one who has control she possible may be holding her self back thinking it holding her more attention. If she sees the letters right traces them with understanding then she shows incapable of either organized thoughts to recollect or the unwillingness to do it with out a helping hand Children at this age are testing the waters to see if they can own control over something that's why some parents that put to much importance on make the toilet every time then combining it with all day long no this no that they have a horse that can be lead to water but wont drink, meaning their child wants desperately to own any control that cant be forced by adults but most of all if a child is not receiving a well balanced amount of attention and yes you cans and wow that great praise then there going to hang on to the ones that seem to spark and hold their attention givers (parents),attention especially if they caught or realized that oddly had u stressed

Answer 6

Are you kidding me?!?!?! They won't move her to the 4y/o class because she can't write her name?!?! I would think that's what the 4y/o class is for! Where does she go? Harvard preschool? I'm sorry but that's obsurd. No she shouldn't be able to write her name. But, if she could, GREAT!! At 3 1/2, I would think she's ahead of the game! Can you imagine if schools didn't let kids into kindergarten because they couldn't write their name? 1/2 the kids going to kindergarten would be turned away. So many of them can't even hold a pencil. I think she's right on track with recgonizing her letters and tracing them. You can start working with her at home teaching her to write her name, but honestly, if she's in preschool...isn't that what you're paying them for? Just my opinion....and if it makes a difference, I worked at preschool until just a few months ago.

Answer 7

I wouldn't worry yet, she is only 3 1/2. Their expectations seem kinda high. Be careful as you don't want to make her feel over pressured.......if she can trace and identify her letters at her age I think she is doing very well. I know that it is important to push our children (somewhat) to do their best, but you also need to remember what is really age appropriate for them. You can check out pampers.com for some basic milestones expected in a child's development. You can also ask your pediatrician for their opinion, and go from there.

I wish you all the best!

Answer 8

my 3 1/2 daughter can write her name, but it`s easy with only 2 letters(Anna)....but even then she can mess it up!
Is your daughter`s name long or complicated? That can make a huge difference.

I worked at a pre-school with this age group and there were some who could write their names and others couldn`t....depending on their development and how difficult their name was to write.....Emili had a much easier time than Ricardo.
I can`t believe that writing her name is considered nessessary at this age. Like others said she should be able to write her name before she starts school, not pre-school. Her fine motor skills need more development at this age.

Answer 9

3 and a half! That's crazy! Nearly all 3 and a half year olds cannot write their name! Really, this just speaks to how crazy we've gotten over academics. Kids at that age should be learning social skills...how to share, how to resolve conflicts, how to sit at circle and look at the teacher. That's ridiculous. Don't force your daughter to do something (write her name) that is not developmentally appropriate. I would look for a day care that understands child development better.

Answer 10

I have never heard of this before, but practice makes perfect! Just continue drawing it out with her and having her trace and she will get it eventually. Most importantly do NOT let those day care people make you think your child is behind, I know from experience they like to rush children along for there own convenience! My son is three and a half also and he cannot write his own name, and there is certainly nothing wrong with him. So I wouldn't fret too much.