When do children usually start reading simple books independently?

[howoldwhen]

Ds is six later this year, so just started y1. He did ok in reception; nothing exceptional but meeting all the required standards. I have him read to me every day and I also read to him. But if I’m honest he’s definitely a long way off just sitting and reading a book independently. I’m wondering when this normally happens although I get it will vary from child to child.

My eldest was three. My youngest has NEVER sat down and read a book independently, she can read well, huge vocab but she's 15 now and will never choose a book 🤯 so yes, varies massively!

My DS (also just started Y1) is very interested in dinosaurs at the moment. He has a dinosaur encyclopaedia and he will go off and look something up in it and come back to tell me about it. But he wouldn’t be interested in sitting and reading himself a story.

Some by year 2.

there’s lots of series of books that are very repetitive and boring for adults that are aimed at 7-8 year olds.

Like the rainbow magic series aimed at girls.

But he can actually read the words, the facts? I suppose that’s what I’m asking, as I feel my ds is a long way off that.

Year 2.
Their reading often takes off around this time.
Its absolutely one of my favorite things in life to snuggle in bed with mine both of us reading our books. In silence. Heaven.

I think it really does depend per child (I started very young, I have friends who started much later - all now enthusiastic readers as adults)...

I think it can be influenced by what interests them - if the time with you and a book is valued as time with a parent, then they might not wish to lose that time...

If the books are a routine / school exercise, then he might not be that excited or inspired, so why would he wish to carry on in his own time...

it might be that the necessary catalyst is finding reading material that interests him so that he wants to carry it on - if you get to the end of your reading together and he is nagging for just one more chapter etc. then it might be time to point him at a chair with the book and say crack on! He needs an incentive to want to read on his own - and the usual one is a desire to see what happens next...

it is also worth considering whether he is struggling / comprehending - if he finds it difficult then he will not want to read on his own as he needs your support - if though he is reading fluently and comprehending (age appropriate materials - doesn't have to be Dickens quite yet!) then he is more likely to succeed and enjoy reading alone...

There’s an extract from a rainbow fairies book here.

this is usually aimed at age 5-8

https://orchardseriesbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/RM-Ruby-Extract.pdf

Boys especially, seem to love factual books, joke books and graphic novels and at this age. Have you tried taking him to the library to choose what he likes for himself?
Like other people have said some children are sitting reading at 3 and others never do it.

Sorry, I misunderstood the question. Are you asking when they can actually read the words independently? (Rather than being interested in reading a book by themselves ).

For my DS it was part way through reception that he started being able to read most words. He recognises familiar ones and sounds out unfamiliar ones. He reads his school reading books without any help from me.

I’m sure there is a massive range though, his teacher said he was one of the quicker ones to pick up phonics.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear. What I’m saying is if I’m honest he’s a long way off being able to read a book (any type of book) independently. He can read school phonics books but needs me supporting him; he wouldn’t be able to read a book on his own yet.

If you keep on reading every night, both hom to you and you to him, you'll probably find theres a big leap forward soon. Progress isn't linear. They can go in the space of a few months to slowly word by word feeling like hard work to really quite fluent.

I was about 3 but I was hyperlexic as a child and have since been diagnosed as autistic.

Thanks for this - I always worry we’re massively behind, and he should fluently be reading! Not helped that I know my own memories aren’t always accurate so I remember enjoying Enid Blyton etc but no idea of how old I was when I was reading them independently!

My daughter is the same age and is exactly the same. She is bright, articulate and very vocal but is really struggling to read. Even basic three letter words we have to repeat and sound out and she’s been in school for 2 years. School doesn’t seem to think there’s an issue as she can hear the sounds and verbalize them but she really struggles to read them. She’s never been able to pick up a book independently to actually read it- she looks at the pictures and makes up her own stories. We practice daily, plus I read chapter books to her and she falls asleep listening to audiobooks, so it’s not like she doesn’t like stories. I’m just hoping one day soon it’ll click for her.

My son couldn't read fluently at 6 - we got fact books and graphic books (he liked the super early readers that were mostly pictures with a few words based on Star Wars or similar). Every kid will have a 'thing' and basically they graduate from looking at the pictures to sounding out a few words and then it just builds on itself.

I'd take him to a book store or library and let him pick out a few things without any input from you. If he's interested in something that will encourage him. My son loved (and still does now at 10) the Bunny vs Monkey sort of book - they are still funny without reading anything at all but there are words there to practice when he's ready. Keep it fun and low key and it will snap into place one day.

A huge incentive for my son was that he was desperate to read Beast Quest and I refused to read them to him (after what felt like decades of my life trapped with the Rainbow Fairies with my daughter) so he really pushed himself to be able to read them himself. And then powered through hundreds of them when he was maybe 7/8?

DS’s reading is at an OK level - not advanced but he’s fine. So for example his book starts ‘can you see it? The toad is hidden at the bottom.’ He can read that but he needs my finger going from word to word and sometimes sort of moving over the grapheme like ‘oa’.

I’ve no doubt he’ll get there eventually but I suppose I was just curious as I do worry we’re behind!

I’ve been wondering this too and also can’t wait until my DD can read in her head!
I feel that she is behind as I was reading my parents’ books at 3 with no issues but my DD is now in year 2 and struggles. However, compared to her best friend who is 6mth older, my DD is the better reader of the two.
It’s really hard to know whether they’re behind or not without being able to compare a fairly large sample and the parents in our class are not a friendly bunch so I won’t be asking them!

What I have noticed when we read her (dreadfully boring) school books is that she is really easily distracted. The type of book makes a difference - my DD hated the Biff, Chip & Kipper books and I could tell she was more interested when they moved her onto the next level and the books were less shit.

Ds’s school books aren’t generally too bad: he likes animals so a lot of the books they give him are linked to this theme. He is OK with them but he does tend to memorise them quite quickly so never sure what he’s reading and what he’s memorised IYSWIM!

Try not to worry about it they all progress differently. DD was reading by herself at the beginning of year 1. She's now year 3 with a reading age of a year 6, I find her regularly in a corner of the house somewhere reading. Whereas DS same genetics also summer born is more average which is absolutely fine. I would imagine he'll start himself reading by himself in year 2. However he loves listening to bed time stories and is able to tell a new story back to me and discuss it so I'm not worried in the slightest. We do mixture of chapter books (the boy who grows dragons etc) and easier to follow like the room on the broom to expose him to different texts.

My eldest was 2 years 7 months. My younger was 7 or 8.

Research on home educated children in Britain & Australia who were allowed to learn to read when they were ready (rather than when the parents thought they should) found that 19% of children first learn to read between the ages of 8 and 16. The developmental stage of readiness for reading is much older for many children than schools would have us believe.