Helping your child write their first letter

The first letter is the hardest one. There’s no message to reply to, and a blank page can feel enormous when you’re eight.

Keep it short. Half a page is plenty for a first hello. A first name, an age, one or two favourite things to do. It helps to end on a question, so the other child has something easy to write back.

Younger children, and pen pals still learning each other’s language, can draw instead. A picture of the family dog says plenty.

Resist the urge to tidy it up. A real child’s letter has crossed-out words and wobbly spelling in it. The reply will too.

The one job for the grown-up is checking the address and the postage before the letter goes in the box. International post is fussy about both.