Can 2 year olds read?

[spritesoright]

A friend told me today that her DD, age 2.3, is beginning to recognise letters and read. Apparently she managed to read "pasta dishes" from a menu.
My DD is the same age but doesn't recognise any letters, let alone read words! Is this normal? Can other 2 year olds read?

some people say they can
I struggle to believe in 4yos who can read well.
My 2yos didn't have the life experience to understand what the words meant.

"Pasta dishes" doesn't mean crockery made out of pasta, does it? But how would a 2yo know that.

My oldest just turned two, when she could recognise her own and most of her friends' names from flashcards simply by the shape of the word. It's not reading as such, just whole word recognition.

My DD is nearly 2 and recognises her (first) name written down, has down for a while. That's all though.

Her dad and I were both early readers, so it's not that out of the ordinary.

Rarely. My DS also recognised his name at 2 but as one poster mentioned this is due to whole word recognition. He is now 4.6 and can read well but that's due to starting school early and is now at the same level as 5 year olds in his class. He couldn't read before starting school.

Her DC may well be able to read or she may be like my friend who constantly tells me she holds full conversations with her 13 month old

Apparently I could read at 2 but I don't remember.

DD could read before she started nursery but IIRC she had just turned 3. But she could have been doing it longer and I did not realise

But there is a difference between a child who has just turned 2 and a child almost 3.

Thanks that's interesting. Iamgluezilla. I'm surprised at flashcards at 2, it just seems so school like. DD loves to pretend to read and makes up very entertaining stories to go with the pictures and I figured that was as far as it would go at this age.

My DS could. Whole word recognition. He was obsessed with reading everything. He is exceptionally intelligent. He has been diagnosed With aspergers at the age of 13, don't know if this is relevant.

My SIL could read at 3, her mother used flashcards and trained her like mad to read.

She left school at 16 with no qualifications.

I could. DS also could - several words - and started reading books when he was 3. He basically taught himself; no flash cards. It's just a thing he's good at, like I was - not necessarily a big deal.

Flash cards at 2

Dd is 2 and recognises her name in the same way she does a picture of a duck. Ds, who's 4, is trying to read properly ie sounding out the letters.

Reading is far more than barking at flashcards or even using simple phonics.

I find it hard enough to read some of the names of pasta dishes and I am 38 with a degree. I seriously doult that a two year old can read the name an unfamiliar pasta which probably needs italian phonics to pronouce correctly. Certainly my four year old can't yet!

I had one at 2 and something who "read" Tesco , having seen it on bags and on our local supermarket. His life experience was shopping there every day I suppose lljkk!

By three they told me at nursery he could read.

Now in primary he's a goodish reader but not as keen as some. He likes codes now.

I was amazed to see wee ones with footballs seemingly stuck to their feet aged 18 months. Some do things quicker than others especially if they get a bit obsessed with one thing.

My 2 1/2 year old - can recognise most letters and can read own name. Fairly good seeing he didn't start talking until past 2

My 4 year old - knows and can write all letters. Can read things he recognises ie his name, siblings name, mum/ dad, cat/ the etc. I'm not sure that's reading though. He's only just 4 and not at school yet

Artandco I have another who did not read fluently until 6 and couldn't reliably recognise letters at 4. They have shown very different approaches to learning to read.

I could, DD could, DS couldn't... but then we found out he was visually impaired! (poor child- that's not a joke)

Like Artandco no talking before 2, but at 2.5 recognises all letters and has done for months, now understands words are built from letters (from cbeebies alphablocks I think as we don't do anything) but can't actually read beyond recognising a number of whole words like her own name. Asks "what's that say" quite a lot so shows an interest in reading for sure.

MY DD taught herself to read and write soon after her second birthday and, yes, she really could sound out and recognise the words. When she came across words she didn't understand she asked for help. I thought the HV was going to pee herself when she realised and I was treated to a long lecture on how she would need to go to private school and have specialised tutoring, etc

However she turned out to have AS and that makes it more normal.

I childminded for a mother who taught her DS to spell his name and lots of other words that were meaningful to him by rote. It's the same a teaching children to count by rote. They can do it but don't have any idea of what it means. To them it's just like singing a song.

Children learn to read when their brain development makes it appropriate and there's not a great deal you can do to hurry it up. The vast majority level out after a few years in school so it doesn't mean much in the long term.

My niece was reading fluently at two and a half - but she had older sisters to emulate. She is a ridiculously intelligent child, although she has very little common sense. She arrived in reception with a reading age of 12 and was put straight onto the gifted and talented register.

I was an early reader - I can clearly remember reading The Cat in the Hat all on my own at the age of four. I am on the autistic spectrum. I suspect my niece is too.

My 5 year old showed no interest in reading before he went to school. Now he is reading books with very simple words and very simple stories (eg "Tom got a mop")
His teachers are impressed, he is in the top group and Iam very proud of him.

There is no hurry. At 2 years old, it's more important tolikebooks and spend lots of time playing.

I loathe this competitive parenting thing! Don't worry about what other parents say. Children learn when they are ready, and it would be a mistake to hothouse them.

I could. Ds1 could. I remember a girl in Tesco doing a double-take like a cartoon character when she heard him reading labels!
However, he hasn't turned into a rocket scientist. He has ADD and struggles with school most of the time.
I have a high IQ and did well in school/uni but probably should have done better than I did.

I apparently convinced my doting parents that I could read at age 2 as I was saying every word of Jemima Puddleduck as they turned each page. Of course I couldn't, I didn't really get a grip on this reading thing until I was about seven, I can remember it quite clearly, as I was angry about being moved from Reading Group 1 (only about one or two word per page) to Group 2 (whole sentences!!!!! ).

Whatever.... I got a good Upper Second and now run my own business.

I could read at two and a half. DM enrolled me at the local library and I remember being sat on the counter to read to the librarians. I've tried teaching DS to read but he's really not interested so I've left it. He knows the alphabet and can manage words like dog and cat but would rather run around.

I could. I got my leg smacked in the reception class for telling lies when I said I'd finished the first reader.

DD is 2.10 and has been able to recognise her name for about 6 months now. She knows some letters and sounds, and recognises some words she frequently comes across like Mummy.

Notice that I said recognise, not read. She doesn't know how to decode.

My mother works with children who struggle with literacy. Many are great at decoding, but their pre-school experiences and limited vocab mean that they really struggle with comprehension. This is where parents can really help their children.