Dr. Wagner’s Weekly Message: When do I tell them how to spell the word?

Does This Only Happen in My House!?!

Child: “Mom, how do you spell ___?”
Mom: (Spells the word.)
Child: (10 seconds later.) “And how do you spell ___?”
Mom: (Spells the word, again.)
…and repeat.

Child: “Mom, I finished my homework! Can you check it?”
Mom: (Checks homework, notices a spelling and grammar explosion, takes a deep breath, grabs a pencil.) “Okay, let’s erase this and work through it together.” (Mom dictates, spells, and essentially rewrites the homework.)

Sound familiar?

Parenting is full of these moments, and sometimes it’s hard to know where to draw the line. What’s enough help? What’s too much? What’s developmentally appropriate? When should you step in, and when should you let your child figure it out?

Parenting is confusing, but the research on spelling isn’t.

Check out these quick videos to learn what’s truly helpful when it comes to spelling, and how to support your child’s learning without taking over.

Invented Spelling Part 1

Invented Spelling Part 2