To be worried about the number of 6 year olds reading Harry Potter?

[mydogeatsnutstoo]

My dd is 6, nearly 7. I think she is quite a bright child, she is creative and outgoing and quite athletic. Her school reports always suggest she is doing well.

However, I have been worried that she has not taken to reading as I thought she would - I was one of these precocious and avid readers as a child and she is just not! ( and not for want of opportunity, loads of books in house, taken to library a lit etc). She is on level 2b reading book which I think is about right for year 2 but definitely not Harry Potter level! Getting her to read in itself can be a trial, although she has spurts of interest and improvement though would not sit down and read a book herself very often.

I am trying not to push her but will be v disappointed if she doesn't like reading! Please tell me that there are other bright 6 year olds at this stage not reading The Hobbit (as my friend's daughter apparently has!) and that they can suddenly just 'get it' a bit later!

[thegiddylimit]

DD2 is 6, won't be 7 until the summer and is nowhere near reading Harry Potter, I suspect she wouldn't even sit through us reading it to her.

But even DD1 (nearly 8) who is being read Harry Potter by her teacher in class is only just there for reading it herself and she has always been a very good reader (she has read all of David Walliams by herself over the summer and will reread more complicated books that I've already read to her). I would think only a handful of children in each year would be reading Harry Potter in year 2 for pleasure by themselves unprompted.

[Toadinthehole]

I think there is a certain competitiveness amongst parents about Harry Potter - as if reading it shows your child has reached a certain level of reading proficiency. I can think of some 6 to 8 year old children who have "read" the books, but knowing them as I do I suspect this doesn't actually amount to very much. There's nothing wrong with this, except that all those children might be reading something else for more comprehension and, more importantly, more fun and profit. There are plenty of other better great classics for children between the ages of 6 and 10, not to mention plenty of good non-fiction books for children who prefer that.

FWIW I think the Hobbit is much easier than HP and if I remember correctly, the reviewer (a 9 year old girl) said it was suitable for children between the ages of 7 and 10 :-)

[MyGastIsFlabbered]

DS1 is 6 in February. Technically he could read HP now without a doubt, but how much he would comprehend I don't know, and there's no way I'd let him read it anyway. He's a sensitive soul and could easily get upset by some of it. I split up with exH earlier this year and I can imagine him getting really upset by James and Lily dying and leaving poor Harry alone, I'm not about to risk it just to brag about what he's reading!

[trashcanjunkie]

My twins are on the gifted and talented register for maths, sport and art and are level 5c (I think) readers. They haven't read hp and they're nearly eleven. They read comics for preference so it goes to show that very bright ten year olds aren't even reading them. Fwiw I don't think the last two books are age appropriate for littluns either.

[multivac]

Blimey. I think some people seriously overestimate the literary merit of Harry Potter... I mean, all credit to JK, but it really isn't that complex or layered a series of books. It is for children. And guess what?

It's not obligatory to read it, either. Ever!

[shocked]

[multivac]

Oops. That was meant to be one of these

[mommy2ash]

To be honest I don't believe anyone who says their six year old is reading Harry potter. My dds reading age according to school tests increases each year. She is eight now and apparently had a reading age of 14. She could have probably read Harry potter at six but comprehension is another thing. I agree with allowing them to read what interests them my dd mostly reads things that are miles to easy for her but the story and theme are age appropriate and she enjoys them.

[Senpai]

I never liked the Harry Potter books, and never really got too into a series. My test scores were still in the 98th percentile for English and reading for my age.

I like more instructional books that teach a new skill, intriguing non-fiction, and comic books/manga. But those go over most kids heads, I had to grow into them.

Give your child time, he may not be an avid reader, but he might find a genre he enjoys on the side. If he enjoys reading he'll pick it up when he fancies it.

[SingingSamosa]

hazeyjane That comment was supposed to be slightly tongue in cheek It's just that my daughters were very keen to read really early and my son was so not interested and I had to try very hard not to force my literacy intentions on him and run the risk of putting him off books. It seems to have taken a really long time for him to make the decision himself!

My best advice is to find books or magazines that children are actually interested in. My little sister refused to learn to read until she was about 7 or 8 because she was so bored to tears with the reading books at school. Once they got her some horsey ones (from the Ginn levelled reading series, remember them??) she learnt very quickly and now is as avid a reader as I am. It's not really important WHAT they read as long as they are actually doing it willingly. Of course there are some people (children and adults) who just don't find pleasure in reading. That's perfectly fine too! It's probably not all that nice for the children though as they are forced to read throughout their school years (a bit like me with physics )

My eldest is really interested in animals and so for the last couple of years she's had the National Geographic for Kids magazine on subscription. It's fabulous! Loads of animal posters, fact cards and quizzes, and interesting facts/stories about animals, people, places and science. She really enjoys reading it. I'm not sure what the age range is but possibly 7-12 years or something like that?

The Harry Potter series might not be of massive literary merit but I think Rowling did manage to encourage a lot of reluctant readers with her series, which can only be a good thing!

[spaceyboo]

At 6 I was reading The Hobbit and Peter Pan. I hated them but I read and comprehended the stories well enough. However I loved reading and at the same age my maths was terrible so you can't have it all lol

[ShelaghTurner]

Add me to the list. I was reading George Orwell at 8. I won't pretend I understood everything but I remember giving a damn good run down of Animal Farm to a visiting priest who expressed surprise at my reading material.

Fast forward to DD1 who is 8 next month. A genius obviously and a perfectly adequate reader. Not as far ahead as some but decent enough. Wouldn't pick up a book to read if her life depended on it. I've tried casually dropping all sorts around, from Enid Blyton to Charlotte's Web to Pippi Longstocking and Rainbow Fairies but no dice. I could cry with disappointment (but obviously don't because that would be silly).

I've just started reading HP to her and she's really enjoying it. It would be way ahead of her to read herself though.

And yet she's asked (and has got) a Kindle for Christmas. Go figure...

[Stratter5]

Another very precocious reader here, I could read (and I remember reading) the newspaper, and Hans Christian Andersen stories - we had the most beautiful old illustrated book of them. I'm distinctly average now, pretty well read, and clever enough to get by, but my brain is not in any way outstanding by any stretch of the imagination.

My FIL didn't learn to read into he was seven, and he got a scholarship to read History at Cambridge. He is seriously clever, and absolutely fascinating to talk to.

[Stratter5]

That should say before I started school, and I'm a very late summer baby.

[VenusRising]

Won't somebody think of the children - they need a childhood

Op have her eyes tested, she may need some help there, but please don't stress about her reading level which is an artificial metric.

The world has all kinds of people in it, and just as well.

[mydogeatsnutstoo]

Thanks everyone, some good points. I don't think her eyes need testing though had not reAlly considered that. She seems ok at other stuff requiring close vision like drawing and writes v neatly.
I am reassured by some evidence that reading early is not the be all and end all. It is clearly my issue as she is doing perfectly fine as far as the school is concerned - just not where I thought she would be! I do try to focus on her other strengths too and to praise her reading when she does well. Interesting to see that I am not the only reader who has a child who seems so far not to be!

What I have noticed about her reading is that I don't think she really uses phonics principles, she looks at the whole word and makes a guess in the context - another valid way of learning I guess but she doesn't tend to do well in phonics tests. Also, she often loses her place in terms of which line she is on, and she frequently mixes up 'was' and 'saw'. My mother in law has suggested she could be mildly dyslexic, though personally I think she probably isn't, it's probably more to do with concentration and focus.

[WhirlwindHugs]

That does sound dyslexic actually. Concentration, focus and memory problems are also part of dyslexia.

My 6yo has all those issues and we and her teachers are considering dyslexia. She has other symptoms too though.

[mydogeatsnutstoo]

Thanks whirlwind - she does not have concentration, focus and memory problems generally (very good at focussing when she wants). Her writing is apparently very good, though her spelling is terrible but I think within normal range for her age! However, she does seem to struggle learning spellings for the weekly spelling tests (and tends to avoid doing so!) however am not sure if this is dyslexia or that they are just tricky and she doesn't want to apply herself to learning them! (I think I was making a bit of a thing about this but on advice of my sensible mother in law have decided to stop doing so and accept she will get some wrong!)

[WhirlwindHugs]

6 is still little - I'd just keep it in mind. If she is dyslexic then nagging about spellings definitely won't help. But working on her phonics might well do.

That's what we're trying anyway!

[jamtartandcustard]

my ds is 6, will be 7 in feb, he's still reading biff, chip and kipper. just as well i'm not a competitive parent. step-dd is also 6 (may birthday), she is a better reader then ds, and came round the other week with a roald dahl book she'd been given. was adamant she could read it, but only quietly in her head to herself. took her 2 hours and she couldn't tell us what had happened, just that she 'read it'. smile and nod and well done. I expect the 6 year olds reading Harry Potter are reading in a similar manner.

[ICantFindAFreeNickName2]

I was a bit like you OP with my eldest, both me and dp were avid readers as children and adults. DS already had a library of books before he was born. He loved being read to each night, but when it came to reading himself he just did not seem to make much progress. All he friends seemed to be moving through the book bands so much quicker than him. Then suddenly in Year 3 something clicked with him and by the end of the year, he was one of the best readers in the year group. I would love to say it was some classic literature that awoke his interest, but it was a £10 set of Pokémon books from the Book People!

[mydogeatsnutstoo]

Jamtartandcustard - yes my dd has at times sat down with a 'difficult' chapter book such as roald dahl or the worst witch and claim to have read a chapter but then can't say what happened - I think she concentrates so hard on the words she doesn't pay attention to the meaning. Maybe this is normal at her age!
More recently she has sat down in the library with a horrid Henry early reader and been able, I think, to read it so this is probably about her level.

[nannyl]

my (just) 4 year old (still at pre-school)
is at oxford reading level 6 and fluent enough to read / work out pretty much anything. (she was level 6 at age 3)

There is no way she has the patience to read a book like Harry Potter yet (but i bet by age 6 she might)

However she is loving Enid Blytons Magical Faraway tree (that i am reading aloud to her at bed-time)..... she really gets it understands whats happening and is pretty good at understanding what might happen next....

last night she guessed so well what would (and did) happen, that i hadn't even realised myself that i asked her if she had read the chapter during her quiet time.... she insisted she hadnt and from how high the book was and un touched etc i believe her....

So at 49 months she can comprehend Enid Blyton chapter books :)

[SparklestheUnicorn]

I was talking to a friend about this the other day as a mutual claims her 6yro has read all the LOTR!! My daughter is 10, an avid reader, and she read HP at 8. DS1 is 7 and likes David Walliams books and Mr Gum.

They both have a love for reading but despite being just as able, DS2, 6, hates it with a passion and loathes any and all books, whether they're read to him or with him or whether he reads them on his own. I doubt he'll ever read HP or LOTR or anything of the sort because reading is just something he dies out of necessity. However, he dances day and night and lives to be a unicorn. High aspirations!

[mercifulTehlu]

My dd started reading the HP books at 6 and ds is on book 3 now at age 7. Kids are all different. Not you OP, but I find it a bit irritating that on MN some people are perfectly happy to accept that dc vary in ability generally, but when it comes to talking about reading levels they come over all about children reading above their age, and state in lofty tones that of course the children are just reading the words and not understanding what they are reading.

Dd and ds spend much of their time quizzing each other (and me) about the books they've read and having long, involved and heated debates about plot points, characters and so on. We they are proper HP geeks! I will try and slow ds down as he goes through the books - the later ones would be best kept back for a year or two as they do get a bit more involved.