Should I sign my 7 year old's passport

[md10074]

or should I let her do it? She has problems with fine motor skills and writes really big, too big for the line.

 

Should I just sign it for her or at 7 year old do they expect the child to sign it for themselves?

[lillian marie]

Call your post office and talk to the passport dept.

[LemurCat]

or should I let her do it? She has problems with fine motor skills and writes really big, too big for the line.

 

Should I just sign it for her or at 7 year old do they expect the child to sign it for themselves?

 

From the Department of State (http://travel.state.gov/passport/faq/faq_1741.html ):

 

Q:My child is too young to sign his/her own passport. How do I sign my child's passport?

a:In the space provided for the signature, the mother or father must print the child's name and sign their own name. Then, in parenthesis by the parent's name, write the word (mother) or (father) so we know who signed for the child.

 

So, if your kid can't sign for themself, you can. ;)

[3Hearts]

From the Department of State (http://travel.state.gov/passport/faq/faq_1741.html ):

 

Q:My child is too young to sign his/her own passport. How do I sign my child's passport?

a:In the space provided for the signature, the mother or father must print the child's name and sign their own name. Then, in parenthesis by the parent's name, write the word (mother) or (father) so we know who signed for the child.

 

So, if your kid can't sign for themself, you can. ;)

 

Thats what I did last year. My son had just turned 8 but his writing skills were lacking. School doesn't care. I guess they figure they will never use a pencil in the future so why bother. I even heard they were considering NOT teaching cursive anymore!

 

Have fun :)

[jbhcw]

We did a family cruise on HAL in 2008..Grandkids were 8 and 5. We had to go thru Customs or whatever it's called at one stop..on the ship...kids passports were not signed...they took my son aside and had him sign the passports for his kids.

[md10074]

Ok, thanks I'll sign it for her then.

[newcruiser452]

I just did that as each of my other 3 kids could sign thier own but he is 8 and could not. So I followed the rules on the website and printed his name and then signed mine with (Father) afterwards.:D

[oncruisecontrol]

School doesn't care. I guess they figure they will never use a pencil in the future so why bother. I even heard they were considering NOT teaching cursive anymore!

 

 

 

That is sad. Even with computers and all of the technology we have, writing is still a useful skill. I can remember when I was in grade school (particularly 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade), we had lined writing paper (that was not bleached) that had a dotted line between every solid line. We were to keep our lower-case letters to the height of the dotted line when printing and when practicing our cursive. We were only allowed to write in pencil. And, only when our cursive was very neat and legible, were we (on an individual basis) allowed to start writing in ink. I am only 39 yrs old, but back then, penmanship was a class we were required to take.

[md10074]

I even heard they were considering NOT teaching cursive anymore!

 

God, I hope they didn't stop teaching cursive here because once my son learned to write in cursive, his handwriting was much better. You can hardly understand his printing. I think my daughter will be the same way.

[sea_u_onboard]

My son is special needs and writes his name very large and only his first name. He is 19. This is his signature. So he signed his passport this way.

[Havingfun2010]

That is sad. Even with computers and all of the technology we have, writing is still a useful skill. I can remember when I was in grade school (particularly 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade), we had lined writing paper (that was not bleached) that had a dotted line between every solid line. We were to keep our lower-case letters to the height of the dotted line when printing and when practicing our cursive. We were only allowed to write in pencil. And, only when our cursive was very neat and legible, were we (on an individual basis) allowed to start writing in ink. I am only 39 yrs old, but back then, penmanship was a class we were required to take.

 

I can't remember the last time I wrote in cursive other than notes to myself. I do not write at work. I take additional college classes for fun (yes I said fun). I am 45.

 

Kids could either "sign" or "print" their names on the passport. Doesn't matter how "bad" or "big" or "sloppy" it is. It's only good for 5 years before renewing.

[oncruisecontrol]

I can't remember the last time I wrote in cursive other than notes to myself. I do not write at work. I take additional college classes for fun (yes I said fun). I am 45.

 

Kids could either "sign" or "print" their names on the passport. Doesn't matter how "bad" or "big" or "sloppy" it is. It's only good for 5 years before renewing.

 

 

I think you've misread my post. I was not commenting on whether or not a kid was able to sign their own passport. Rather, I was commenting on a poster who said that a school didn't care and was considering not teaching cursive. It is this "fact" that I believe to be sad, as writing is still an important skill to know whether one currently uses it or not....in my opinion. I'm sure it would not be a good thing to have a whole generation of kids who don't know how to write (because they were never taught) since they will only ever use a keyboard.

[h_blond2]

Thats what I did last year. My son had just turned 8 but his writing skills were lacking. School doesn't care. I guess they figure they will never use a pencil in the future so why bother. I even heard they were considering NOT teaching cursive anymore!

 

Have fun :)

 

Well I'm sorry that your son's school does not care about his writing skills. But please be aware that this is not true for every school! My school still teaches handwriting, on the same lined paper that I grew up using. Although computers and typing have long since replaced the need to hand write everything, handwriting is still an essential skill to have. My 4th grade students know that if I can not read their writing, I will return thier work to be completed again, with better handwriting!

[oncruisecontrol]

Well I'm sorry that your son's school does not care about his writing skills. But please be aware that this is not true for every school! My school still teaches handwriting, on the same lined paper that I grew up using. Although computers and typing have long since replaced the need to hand write everything, handwriting is still an essential skill to have. My 4th grade students know that if I can not read their writing, I will return thier work to be completed again, with better handwriting!

 

 

Bravo. That's good to hear.