Thank you note Question.

[Pennylane]

What age do you think children should start writing their own thank you notes? My dd turned 6 recently and she can write pretty well but it takes her awhile to get them done. Is it still o.k for me to write them and just have her sign her name?

I know we can buy the ones that are just fill in the blanks but I did not want to make a trip out to buy them.

Thanks!
Ann

[Momof3Labs]

My DS just turned 5yo. I had him dictate the thank you notes to me - and each was quite a few sentences (filled the cards) so I feel like he understood what we were doing without being bogged down by the handwriting part of it (not one of his strong suits yet). That said, he did want to write a sentence by himself on the last couple of cards (we did 2-3 per day for about a week), but it was slow going! And on a few of the cards, he drew some pictures. My SIL thought it was the best thank you note she had received in a long time, so I'm glad we went this route.

Of course, you also risk ending up with thank you notes that start "I really loved the money..."

[SnuggleBuggles]

6-8 sounds pretty reasonable. I just have my 5yo sign his name and decorate things (card and envelope). But, I can see him contributing even more in the next few years.

Not a fan of those fill in the blank note cards so we'll stick with a short message when he starts doing his own.

Beth

[JustMe]

I think it is fine if a 6 year old (especially a new 6 year old) does not do the writing part. In addition to signing her name, maybe she could draw a picture if she wants.

Robyn

[hobokenmom]

I think it depends on how well your child reads and writes AND how many thank-yous she needs to write.

If I remember correctly, at that age, my son still had a big party where the whole class was invited. I had him draw a picture, which we then color copied into a quarter fold card. I had him dictate a message -- Thank you for coming to my party and for the great gift. I hope you had fun (or something like that). Then I had him fill in the name (Dear So-in-so) and sign his name.

For grandparents and relatives, we struggled through writing the thank you.

[egoldber]

Sarah (6) can write but like you say it takes her forever. I had her dictate and then she signed. On a couple of them she added a little more. I can totally see the virtue of the fill in the blank ones although I used to think they were horrible LOL! I am hoping by next year she will be able to write her own.

[Corie]

I still write the Thank you notes for my daughter. She will
be 6 in a couple of weeks. She writes very well but it just
takes too long.

My DD will dictate to me what I should say and then she
signs her name. She also draws a picture inside the Thank You
note.

I am not a fan of the fill-in-the-blank Thank You notes so we
don't use them.

I am waiting for the day when I see fill-in-the-blank Thank You
notes for wedding gifts or a job interview.

[Jenn98]

Haven't BTDT yet, but I would think having her sign her name or draw a little something would be fine, especially if you have her dictate what she wants to say.

[lmintzer]

Jack usually writes and draws his own cards but since thank-yous are a big batch, I do those and have him sign.

[KBecks]

Yes, I think just a signature is fine for a 6 year old.

[cmo]

DD just turned 5 and partly wrote her own thank you notes. Inside each card, she wrote 'Thanks (friend's name)' at the top and 'Love (her Name)' at the bottom, and I added a sentence or two in between. There was a good bit of white space on the front of the card so she added a couple stickers there as well. A happy medium for all!

[mamicka]

It's OK for a 6-yr old to just sign her name, IMO. I think it totally depends on the child, when they're ready to do the whole TY note. DS1 wanted to write his TY notes for his 2-yr birthday party (they weren't exactly legible to the recipients, but you could tell they were letters, LOL, & *I* could read them). Now DS2 is 2.5 & can barely recognize all the letters, let alone try to write them.

If she's game for doing them, maybe split the list in 2 & you do 1/2 with her signature & she does 1/2 by herself? I would just hate to stifle a willing TY-note writing spirit, LOL.

Allison
DS1 2003
DS2 2005
DS3 2007

[Pennylane]

I ended up writing them for her and had her sign her name. She also made a cute picture on each.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Ann