Are lots of pre-reception 4 year olds reading ?

[flowerpowersd]

My DD is 4, she starts reception in September.

I've been speaking to a few parents who said their child is so ready for reception.

One today told me that their child was ready because she was already reading.

My DD likes phonics and can recognise some words, is making the first attempts at blending sounds and ' reading '.

Should I aim for her to be reading by the time she starts reception ?

Is this quite common that children can read this soon and is this what parents mean when they say they're ready for reception?

Another mum told me her son was also reading and he was not even 4 yet at the time.

Should I invest in some very basic reading books and try to teach her so she can ' read ' when she starts reception ? Or can my DD also technically 'read '?

Or when people say they can read, they actually mean they can read books for their age independently?

She's been going to preschool nursery so far. She loves it and I'm not sure I would say she's ready or desperate to go to reception, although I could be wrong.

DD 4 can read but this is prob more due to the fact that DH and I are both teachers and very avid readers, so she's been read to from day one and SIL also works for read write inc.
Its def not the norm and I'd not be at all worried if she couldn't. I actually bloody hate phonics.

I don’t think it’s common nor do I think it’s anything to worry about but there’s no harm in having books around and show your child them as well as reading together rather than to her.

I could read well by the time I started school but I grew up in a house of readers and there was always books in the house and It was normal for me to be given books (proper books and not just young child’s picture type books) as presents by relatives rather than toys. So it was like osmosis.

By 8 I had the reading age of a 15/16 year old so the local librarian had given me permission to choose adult books as the children’s section was far too young for me.

my experience I don’t think is typical though. From my memory there were a few kids in early primary years who could read a bit but certainly not all
Two of my siblings were also good readers but another hated it!
my siblings children were all decent readers too.

i wasn’t advanced or more intelligent than my peers I was just good with reading and like (and still like)language and words. Some kids just take to things and others take to other things like maths or some kids are sporty.

the pay off for me personally which might be entirely coincidental is I am absolutely terrible with numbers. I have always found maths hard I get by but honestly even the countdown maths sections are not a done deal for me 😂

Both of mine were fluent readers by the time they started school. BUT…

• one was extremely shy and took a long time to make friends. For him being ‘ahead’ academically helped him to focus entirely on his social goals.
• one had/has a physical disability so things like getting dressed etc took much longer to master. For him being able to read and do quite a lot of maths gave him confidence when his peers could do many other things far more easily (run/jump/climb).

My kids are much older now and while they both read fluently many of their peers have caught up. Cultivating a love of reading and books is harder and more important than just the physical act of reading at a certain level by X age. And reading is one of many skills they need to learn in these early years- listening, following instructions, making and keeping friends, learning to be resilient, these are all as important.

to follow my last post though I agree with this sentiment too.

while I see nothing wrong with exposing your child to reading it shouldn’t be to the detriment of getting her ready to actually be ok at school to learn. The basics like this poster has mentioned are very important too and seemingly quite commonly are not getting taught by parents at home so children start school with no skills to look after themselves which takes the opportunity to learn away from them in those early years as teachers are having to teach toileting and dressing etc

There is a good guide here on what kids should be able to do when they start school. Reading isn't one.

https://www.betterliveshealthyfuturesbw.nhs.uk/learning_resource/school-readiness/

Our daughter read a bit at four years old but as this caused two different people to scold me and my husband for being evil academics who paced our child to fulfill our neurotic ambitions on their behalf, I am guessing it is not that normal.

What were we supposed to do? Her brother is three years older and she found it to be very unfair that he was "allowed to do homework" and she wasn't.

Also not really that surprising that a child of two people who love to read also likes books.

My DS is just finishing reception. He was 5 a week into September and was reading NOTHING! He was not interested at all, although he was so bored at nursery and definitely ready for school.

he is writing sentences now and constructing words using phonics…. It’s honestly amazing how much they learn when they start reception.

I really wouldn’t worry

Both my children could read fully before starting school. One started recognising words by 2. Both could recite and write up to the 13 times tables by reception. It’s not a brag - both are autistic and didn’t have most of the skills that were appropriate for starting school. I was in tears the year of my eldest’s starting, his teacher constantly pulling me aside to say ‘he’s so beyond what I’m meant to help him learn but so behind socially’. And despite being able to read and far beyond his age in numeracy, my other son is globally delayed and looking at being diagnosed with a learning disability. He’s brilliant at absorbing and processing what interests him, but still can’t get himself dressed or make conversation.

Obviously our situation is not typical, but I’d certainly not expect most 4 year olds to be able to read with full correct comprehension and tone. Thats perfectly typical, it’s part of what their early years education is about. It’s so much harder for child and teacher when children have learned ‘back to front’ (academically over socially).

I’m more concerned that your DD is 4, and only now are you considering getting her some basic reading books!
The best way of introducing children to reading, is by reading to them from a very young age, and giving them their own books from about a year old.
Yes, they’ll chew them and not really understand at first - but baby’s books are made for this - ours had bath books from birth.
Interactive books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and the That’s Not My… series are good hands-on books to start with, then move onto more complex ones as she gets the idea that books are fun.
Good Luck!

I assume the OP is talking about buying some basic early reader books, like Biff chip and Kipper, or Songbirds.

I highly doubt the OP has zero books in the house, or has never read a book to her children.

The OP was clearly referring to early reader books like Biff Chip and Kipper scheme books not stories.

Just jumping on with a question about hyperlexia as it seems a few posters have it and know about it - is it always an autistic trait, or can you be hyperlexic but not autistic?

Not at all. My kids couldn’t read at all when they started reception, and they didn’t attend the school nursery so were a bit behind those that did as they’d already started phonics. DS left school with mainly 9’s at GCSE and 3 x A* at A level and DD is on track for the same path (just done GCSE). They didn’t talk until 2.5yrs plus, behind a lot of their peers. Take the pressure off, don’t compare to other kids as they are all different and there’s no expectation kids will read already when they start reception. I guess some parents might push that kind of thing a little more but I’ve never done any extras with my kids at home beyond the normal homework when necessary. I saw some parents really push extra work and I don’t see it had a huge amount of benefit

I have no idea why there is such a rush to try and get children to do these things BEFORE starting school...that is what school is there for! I'd also take a huge pinch of salt from people suggesting they had fluently reading pre school children. Extremely rare.

DS6 did zero school work before starting school, he enjoyed being a toddler. Couldn't read or write a single word. We have always read to him though, every night since he was born. He's now in Year 1, goes into Year 3 for reading and is reading Harry Potter.

This!

As an aside, why is Harry Potter always referred to as if it is some kind of major reading milestone?

The language and sentence structures etc are not at all interesting or complex - on a par with eg Enid Blyton or Roald Dahl which no one ever seems to brag about - but the stories/concepts are dark and scary and not really suitable for small children.

My year 1 child is currently reading Swallows and Amazons which is both much more age appropriate in terms of the story and much more challenging in terms of reading skills. The classics generally are great for this - Paddington, Tom’s Midnight Garden, The Secret Garden - and Katherine Rundell’s novels if you want something more modern.

If they're interested then great but definitely not essential, my DDs could recognise letters and start reading basic words but we didn't really do reading with them before reception, we read to them a lot. My 3.5yo nephew can recognise a lot of letters but not read or write.
Practical things like getting own shoes & coat on, opening lunchbox and sharing toys are more useful things to work on before starting reception anyway rather than stressing about reading.

My kid was reading at three. That was just us recognising that his strengths and interests are learning and building (Lego, meccano etc) over football and skateboarding, and nurturing it. He was very easy to teach. It’s harder for me when I take him out skating or playing football and rugby.

Swallows and Amazons, that’s the pre-Harry Potter brag book. I was reading Roald Dahl at that age and remember my mother trying to push that book on me all the time. Maybe it was more challenging, but my god it was boring. Literally just seems to exist as a book so people can say they actually read it to the end, like Lord of the Rings.

Well my DS is really enjoying it. We go on holiday to the Lakes often so I think he imagines himself as one of the characters - he’s been acting bits out this weekend using the climbing frame as an island.

Maybe if you returned to it as an adult you wouldn’t find it so boring? But also - people do have different tastes.

Just to reassure people whose children can't read at 4...

I did everything that people say on here... Read to her from birth. Books as presents. Looking at the pictures, talking about them... she LOVED books. She just couldn't turn those squiggles into letters and words and remember them.

The first few years of Primary were hard. We would have a leap.. then stagnate again. Honestly, it was Yr6 before she really caught up. In a way, Covid homeschooling was a blessing as we went at her pace not the expected pace for a bit.

Anyway... shes now in Yr8 at Secondary. She is doing extremely well academically. Struggling a bit in English and languages, but Maths Science etc... top half of top set. Thats her strength. And she could barely count to 10 in Reception.

What her there was her own persistence. We helped as parents, as did some of the brilliant teachers she had. But the biggest marker on her success is hard work. Thats the most important thing... a good work ethic.

They are all so different. My almos-4year old Ds (younger sibling so has learned a lot by osmosis) knows all his phonics sounds and has started blending (not with nursery, he’s just naturally started to do it). He is also very good at numbers and can count up to 100, can count in 2s and 3s (this is definitely a result of hearing his big sister sing the songs she used to learn the times tables). We are very VERY relaxed about this stuff - don’t press or push him to do anything - but we do incorporate it into normal life, lots of games etc. and allow him to follow things he is interested in. For instance one day he said “I can count all the way to 100” so I just said “OK, go on then” and he did.

HOWEVER he will not entertain writing at all. He can just about form the wobbly short form of his name, but he is just not interested at all. I try and encourage mark making in other ways - painting with water, drawing in the dirt with a stick etc, circling the differences in spot the difference which he loves, because I’m worried he will get a bit of a shock at school being asked to try and write all of a sudden. But deep down I know he’ll be ok and they’ll all be at vastly different stages.

I’m also sure he will struggle with school lunches. Very picky eater. May be ND I am not sure yet.

by contrast my first born at his age:

1. knew phonics sounds but no blending at all
2. ok at numbers - could count to 20 and recognise groups (eg the four dots on a dice without having to count them)
3. would sit at her little table and write / scribble / draw / colour / cut and stick for HOURS every day. Writing was and is a joy and a hobby for her!

she’s gone on to become a wonderful reader, has struggled a lot with maths in year 1 and 2, and is still a super writer. learns spellings easily. Not very sporty but very artistic. good at singing and dancing.

Anyway all the children entering reception will be at different stages, I’m sure your child will be just fine!

4 year olds reading before they start reception is common enough to be unremarkable, not so common that you need to worry if yours can't.

Fwiw, mine could read before starting. I don't entirely know how, they just seemed to get it from being read to a lot. But one needed extra help writing and was quite behind the curve there. Different kids move at different paces.

Literally this, my son (now 7) back then could recognize the books from our shelf by the look & from the way I read it to him..(overly panto emphasizing word.. poor him!) no child needs to know how to read that early

Of course some four year olds can read! My DTs could read at 3. By the time they went to Kindergarten at four they had excellent reading and comprehension skills. They could also dress themselves, use cutlery, write their full names and copy writing and swim a length. Not all children can and some may never manage it but many do.