When did your DC know their alphabet?

[lottytheladybird]

When was your DC able to recite the alphabet?

At the later side of 2.

DS is 5 and knows all the letters by sight and can read small easy words like cat, dog etc but can't recite the alphabet. I don't think they really need to?

No idea - I don't sing the alphabet song to him. He does know his letters mostly (he's just 4 but not at school yet)

At 2.9 ish they sing it at nursery....

Sometime during Reception, age 4.

2.4 in sequence as a song (ie meaningless) 2.10ish to name each on sight when presented in a random order.

I mean, it's not like numbers where they have a sequence for a reason, the alphabet is just made up really. Obviously you need to know it at some point when you're looking at putting things/finding things in alphabetical order or understanding things like school grades etc but other than that (ie things we have put them to) there's no reason for the letters to be in a certain order.

DS1 has known all his letters through the song since he was about two (they do it at nursery) but has only just started (he is 3.2) to realise they can be individual letters rather than a song/rhyme and pick them out on signs etc.

DS recognised all the letters around the time he could do them by rote (maybe 2.8). He can could read almost anything at later side of 3. However, he is now 4.1 and still draws like a (barely) 2 year old. Also only just now learned to use his scooter, so it all levels out

Identify all at around 2, but has not showed any interest in reciting even the song despite hearing it and loving other songs so far now 2.5.

Like others, it doesn't seem like a useful thing for anyone to know until long after being able to read.

I remember him counting to 27 at about 20 months and he knew all his letters at 3. Flew through the ORT and free reading by about five and a half. DD was about six months behind him. I don't remember either of them ever singing he alphabet song or reciting the alphabet to be honest. They're nearly 19 and 15 now so a long time ago.

It's far more important that your child knows how the letters can be pronounced, than knows them in alphabetical order.

Interesting - Quite a range. My DS is 3.4 and has recently developed an interest in letters and numbers. He has a speech delay, so we're really proud of him for having a go at reading letters and numbers.

My DD recognises them by sight and knows all the phonic sounds for the letters but she sometimes gets confused with which order they go in. She's 2.4.

DS recognised most by 2 and could recite them in order.
DD is 2.3 and hasn't got a clue what letters are
She is way ahead of him in speech though.
That's been one of my favourite things about having DC, it's fascinating to see how they develop different skills at different times/rates

Dd1 knew all her letters to recognise, upper and lower case when she was 22months. She couldn't recite the alphabet until she went to preschool at nearly 3yo.

Dd2 could recite the alphabet at 20 months, but didn't have a clue what it meant. "haybeesee" was just another word.
She knew her letters some time between the age of 2 and 3.

Ds had no interest in letters at all. He did know his alphabet I found out last year (year 1) because he was putting things in alphabetical order. He knew most of his letters before he was 4yo, but I don't know if he knew them all.

How long is a piece of string. Mine are 10 and 12 - they know the alphabet and have for years - so long I can't remember. BUT when they come to use a dictionary it is amazing how much they aren't familiar with the sequence.

It is pretty much a case of only really knowing when you use it so often that it is second nature.

Mine's 2.3 and will sometimes point out random letters, but I haven't really taught him the alphabet and he's not at nursery. He knows all his colours and can count to 20, simply because he has an obsession with Playdoh and some of his favourite booksChicka, Chicka 123, for instanceare about numbers.

When I started this thread, I hadn't really thought about whether it was necessary to know the order of the alphabet, I just sort of thought that all children learn it or are taught it somewhere along the lines. Having given it some thought now, I think it is important to know the order. For example, when your DC has to line up in alphabetical order in a fire drill, you'd Want them to be able to work out pretty quickly where they should stand. Especially if there's a Hardy and a Harris for example. Surely it's important for them to be able to work out the Hardy comes before Harris.

Age 6-8yo I should think. Definitely no younger. Never caused them any problems.

KMandMM reported!