Dd is just 4 (last week) and can read dick all, she starts reception in Sept...

[handlemecarefully]

Will she really be reading a bit by the end of Reception? I find it hard to imagine...

She seems like a bright enough girl (enquiring mind, good memory, intelligent questions about the world around her)

[popsycal]

ds1 is 4 next week

he can read dick all

they will be fine

[misdee]

she may well be

dd1 couldnt read a thing when she startyed reception. admittingly she isnt the furtherest ahead in her class and does have extra reading help, but she is coming on nicely. i have concerns that she may be dyslexia as she has a great aptitude with numbers, and can memories things off the top of her head, but cant read too well. reminds me of my little brother so much, he was the same.

lots of kids cant read when they start school.

[popsycal]

actually - many of my friends with kids younger in the year say it isnt til year 1 when they finally 'get it'

[BettySpaghetti]

Its really odd -when she starts in reception you'll spend months thinking "Shes never going to be able to do this" and be tearing your hair out with frustration when she gets stuck on the word "the" for the twentieth time that page but then all of a sudden, literally overnight something clicks and they can read.

Prepare yourself for hours of practice though as they go through phases of being really keen

[Rhubarb]

Blimey! If mine read at 4 I'd be calling her a genius! No child is the same, yours will read when she is ready to. Encourage a love of books and she will want to read then, it's a lot easier when they want to read.

[handlemecarefully]

That's reassuring to hear - thanks.

[WigWamBam]

She'll be reading by the end of Reception. Dd has just finished her Reception year, there were only three children in her class who could read anything at all when they started, and now they can all read - and I know that's the case because I go into school to hear them read. Some are better than others, some find it easy whilst some struggle, but they are all reading at least some words.

You will be amazed at how much progress she will make in the next year, honestly you will.

[Beauregard]

dd1 will be 5 in november and starts reception in september too and she is still struggling with the alphabet .
Very bright in most respects but just doesn't seem to 'get' it.

[winnie]

hmc, she will be fine. IIRC most of ds's reception class couldn't read when they started and a year on all are reading although to different degrees. Dd was reading at 3 and she fell back later on. There are no fast and sure rules.

[KTeePee]

Yes, she probably will. We had an amazing girl visiting last night, has just done her first year at school but has just turned 6 (they tend to start later where she lives). She is reading the same sort of books as my dd (who is 9 and a good reader) - well maybe the younger end of the range dd likes.

[Rhubarb]

dd is 6 and still mixes b and d and is dodgy on her capital letters. She'll get there in her own good time though.

[misdee]

bt, i struggled with reading until i was 9 but then one day it all cliked into palce and now i read books in a day

[southeastastra]

my ds (5 tomorrow!) can't read yet! he's going into yr 1 in september

[Greensleeves]

lol @ "dick all"

[handlemecarefully]

You know I am sure that I have previously read threads here on mumsnet where 3 years old have been able to read and write a little; hence my anxiety. It's very reassuring to hear of these experiences...

[nikkie]

My dd2 will be 5 in Sept when she starts reception knows her alphabet and her name but thats about it. She still holds her crayons in her fist (when she rarely colours) and I can't imagine her doing any actual work at school.

[Feistybird]

love 'dick all' (IFYWIM)

Agree with WWB, you will be amazed at how much they pick up. My dd could read dick all and she is doing brilliantly (not that I'm biased).

[fattiemumma]

ds will be 6 in september and cant even recognise his name.
be thankfull of small mercies and dont get so stressed.

she will get there eventually and who cares if she doesnt read till she's 15.

[kittywits]

You know in Europe kids don't even go to school until they're six! !t's mad to be worrying whether such small children can read or not!! They'll get there when they're good and ready. If mums get anxious so do the kiddies.

[suedonim]

I don't think you should worry one little bit, HMC. I've always thought we send our children to school in order to be taught to read. If all 4yo's could read already then infants teachers would be out of a job!

When my older three children began school at 5yo the school preferred them to not be able to read so teachers didn't have to undo any bad habits (whatever they were!). I agree with others who say that say that somehow the penny just drops one day and then there's no stopping them.

[singersgirl]

Most children can't read when they start school, particularly if they are just 4. And most of the children in DS2's reception class can now read, some very well.

[wanderingstar]

My ds1 was the same age when he started reception as a non reader. It did click quickly when he was ready, and it never occurred to me to worry about him btw, even though I knew some of his friends could read (they came up through the same nursery). My ds2 and particularly dd could read at 3, with the same home circumstances, so children do vary without it being a cause for concern at all. They aren't more intelligent than ds1 who is now nearly 13. I live near some v. competitive private schools all of which emphasise that the ability to read/write is not a criterion for selection into their reception classes, and quite right too.

[joelallie]

Agree with the others. Neither of mine could read at all when they started. DS#1 couldn't give a t*ss so wasn't properly reading till the start of yr 3 . DD was very keen so was readihg fluently by year 1. If she's keen and intelligent she'll get there soon enough.

I was reading pre-school FWIW but my mum spent hours and hours with flash cards etc. Didn't make any difference longterm as far as I can see.

[frogs]

hmc, she's 4, she doesn't need to be able to read -- that's what she's going to school to learn...

Seriously, I didn't start any kind of regular reading practise with either of mine until the January of their reception year (summer babies both, so they were 4.5). Dd1 in particular caught on freakishly fast and was reading chapter books by the time she turned 5. Ds reached the same point a year later, ie. reading proper books around the time he turned 6, and is still considered one of the better readers in his class.

I think starting too early is actually counter-productive, as you run the risk of them getting bored before they've quite got the maturity to really get the hang of it. Better to start slightly later and then really blitz it in the hope that they get to the fun part of reading before the learning process becomes a chore, iyswim.