Your Child's Reading ability

C

cemily

Registered User
Just wonder what is the children reading ability "norm".

A friend of mine, her son just finished K1 and starting K2 in a reputable local kindergarten. At 4 yo, he can read by himself and comprehend Oxford Reading Tree Stage 8!!

Another friend of mine, her son finished the whole Oxford Reading Tree series at 5.5 yo. He will start DBS Primary One this Sept.

Are these 2 kids the "norm"? Or are they exceptional or above average?

How well can your kids read? Grateful for any feedback.

Rgds

e
 
I often hear kindergarten teachers say that children's reading ability varies and we should let them take their own pace of development, seemingly implying that there's nothing much that we parents can do to help them achieve early literacy.

Yet from my experience, I know that's not true. Behind those early readers is very probably the conscious effort of the parents in assisting them in word recognition. Flashing cards is one way, and indeed an effective way in the early years. Yet as the children grow older, phonics can take up a more important role in helping them expand their sight vocabulary quickly.

I'm happy that I used Doman's method to teach my son to read, and grateful to the school for teaching him phonics (first Letterland and then THRASS). However, to my son or the children of Cemily's friends, what's most important is not whether they have outperformed the others, but that they can gain access to the precious treasure that reading can bring. :yeah2
 
I think young children are capable of a lot more than we give them credit for. In saying that the most important way they can learn in the early years is through play. If a child doesn't read until they get to school there is no evidence that they will be disadvantaged in later life. There are some who would say they have the advantage of not having missed out on the development that play brings. I think many kids could read before school if their parents made a priority of putting in the time and effort. The question is - does it make any difference?
 
When you say before school, what age do you mean?

My daughter is 3yrs and although she took a big interest when she was around 2yrs in the alphabet etc, it never really amounted to much more! I also found out about the flash cards a bit late and daughter just wanted to grab them off me and she point blank refused to look at the cards when I 'flashed' them in front of her LoL

What is the Doman's method Linda&Hanley? So far I have just made sure a. I read a lot in front of my daughter (at quite time), b. we read lots of stories to her, c. I let her "read" to me from story books - she mainly just makes up the stories and pretends to read from the books, d, we put books at the end of her bed, which she looks at until she falls to sleep every night!

She definitely cannot read yet though - she will be 3yrs next week (end of August)
 
I have googled Doman's method! ... Do you think it is too late to start with my daughter?

I will most certainly give it a go for my son (20 weeks pregnant).

xxxx
 
Studies have shown that the smartest kids live in homes where books are plentiful. It actually doesn't make a difference if you read to them or not in the long run, it's all about just having books in the house. Kids learn from watching their parents so if you like reading you should read when they are watching. It will become a habit they take up.

I always laugh when i hear about parents who force feed books onto their children thinking that's the thing to do when they themselves don't read. Children pick up on everything particularly hypocrisy.
I own a bookshop and put on plenty of kids events. We see it in the parents all the time.
 
Also, just wanted to second what Fee said. In the long run does it make a difference if your child reads at 3, 4, 5, 6 etc. They all learn in the end.

I think that too often parents want the child to hit milestones early, not for the child's benefit but for the parent's ego. Children need to be left to be kids as long as possible and play is the most important thing. Socialising your children should also be a priority. Otherwise you get a smart kid who doesn't fit in, doesn't know how to make friends and there can't be much worse than that.
 
I started my baby on the Doman flash cards when she was 3 mths, and she really enjoys them! I do it in a way so that it's a fun game to play and she laughs everytime I bring them out.

Although there is no way of knowing whether or not she can read the words or not, but what I do know is that it is our playtime together and something we both enjoy doing.

When using the flash cards, you must not force your child/baby to do it. Only do it when you are both in a good and happy mood. What you do not want to do is to give your child the impression that flash cards/ reading is a boring chore. Always stop BEFORE your child has had enough.

I do have friends who attend classes at KinderU and their children seem to be able to read at the age of 12 mths, so you could always give it a go, but they also ask parents to practise at home with their children as you cannot expect your child to learn if you only attend an one hour class each week!

Read Glenn Doman's 'How to teach your baby to read' and you can understand a bit more the principal behind his methods!
 
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