At what age is it normal to recognise the letters of the alphabet

[makeminealargeoneplease]

Just wondering....my DS recognises them all and seems obsessed with letters, reads out loud the letters on number plates,signs or writing he sees and he's 21 months. He gets them all right apart from G and Q which he sometimes gets stuck on. I'm told this is quite advanced but I'm not sure, anyone know much about child development and this kind of thing?

DD knew her letters and their sounds between 2-3 years old. She wrote her name at 2 years old too, without help. DShe learnt the other phonic sounds before age 4 also. I didn't teach her to read before school age, but she picked it up within the first few weeks, very easily.

My ds knew most of his letters and could recognise his own names and some of his friends (and Thomas !) by 20 months. 2 years later he still cannot read!

Ds has never been interested in letters and learnt them after a few month in reception (he started in january).

Dd shows lots more interest and knows nearly all the letters of the alphabet. She is 4 and a half, and will be at nursery school for another year and half, as in the meantime we moved from the Uk back to the continent.

I wasn't going to join in as couldn't add much to what was already there.

But I am a bit peeved with the assumption that our children are doing this because we are ramming it down their necks in a competitive fashion.

DD, fwiw, could recognise capitals and small letters, and knew her numbers before she was two, but she's never seen a flash card. But she loves books, and spent her whole time pointing at letters in ABC books and asking what they were. She would also do it on the street (I have spent quite some time being asked about letters on numberplates and drain covers) but it's NOTHING to do with me. I read books to her, sure, but I don't teach her anything, she just learns.

And I completely agree with all of the people who say we teach reading too early - I am seriously considering 'alternative' schooling for her because of this. Children do things at different stages (DD only started walking at 17 month), but it isn't necessarily because of what their parents do.

OH my god I am really at the number of mums on here with 2year olds who know all their letters..

am I missing something ???

my 3.5 year old recognises his name if its written down but thats beause its on everything at nusery, on his room door etc but anything else no!!

There is a big difference frasersmummuy between knowing all your letters and being able to read.
Some 2 year olds know all their letters, some know all the makes of cars or the difference between the rose and a dhalia. They are programmed at this age to notice all manner of differences between similar objects and think it is just chance at which ones they pick up on. Not proof of anything but that children are different

My 18 months old cannot say a single word(except woof for dog and quack for duck) but if I have the numbers 1 ten 10 written in a book (or on a phone, or numbber plate) I can ask him 'where is number 6' or '7' or '8' and he'll point at the right number, and doesn't make any mistakes. He can do shape sorters thignies and wood puzzles without hesitating but he still can't say mummy. Children's brains all develop in different ways.

My 3 yo only recognises about 10 letters - first letter of his name, m for mummy, etc. and he can recognise all of the THomas characters and several (several!) dinosaurs and car makes. At 2 he could make the difference between a basketball, a tennis ball, a cricket ball, a football, a baseball, etc. It depends so much on what they are interested in.

My ds is almost 17 months and obsessed with letters and numbers - particularly numbers. His favourite toys have always been books, now coupled with a calculator! He's particularly interested in 9 and E. He points to his ear when he sees an E. I worry about pushing him into it, so I don't go overboard with encouragement. I think that creativity is important.

ds1 knew his at 2ish, and letters and symbols such as equals signs and shapes such as trapeziums but aged 9 cannot speak and have severe learning difficulties. He still knows all his numbers, letters and shapes though.

Some MN kids seem quite advanced

DD(3.4)knows her alphabet in French and in English so does count to 20 in both languages... I guess she is doing well too
Her cousin knew from the age of 18 months all differents colours and now at 3.7yrs he recognises all different cars...

DD knew her letters at 3, just getting the numbers right now at 3.8. This is just through general exposure and interest. I live in South Africa and the schools don't encourage us to push letters at home at all until the year they turn 6, which is when they do them at school. Reading and writing only starts in their first formal year of school which is the year they are 7. The emphasis is on play and fine-tuning general motor skills up until then. Seems to be quite different in the UK where everything seems to start so much earlier.

My oldest could do the same, but didn't really progress to reading until school at 4 and a half. My middle (now 3) is learning in completely different way. Slower to learn individual letters, but recognises several words, even in different fonts/contexts, like friends' names. She can write many words, especially well her own name, but can't name all the letters. But she's fab at taking away numbers! All different, just follow their lead...

ds (4) was never interested in drawing or writing before pre-school, let alone learning letters/phonics...

And now, half a term in he's drawing recognisable people, writing his name without prompting and knows all the phonic sounds... they all learn when they're ready - so while 2 may be early, there is plenty of scope for a keen 4/5/6 year old to overtake them later on

Good grief -= your kids are brainy - but is this all true? Seriously? Have you really every come across a 2 year old who reads or writes its name? that is seriously impressive. At that age they are barely constructing long senteneces so to have one who actually reads from a book I think would be a bit unsettling - at least for me anyhow.

I thought dd3 was super bright when she knew her numbers at age 3 - tgurns out she forgot them again as we couldn't be bothered to practice wiht her and she's no more bright than any of the other kids I don't think...

I have one that knew them at 2 and one that didn't know any until he started school at 4.5yrs.

This thread must be a magnet for mothers with reading 2 year olds.

By all accounts I could read at 2

I have a cousin who could read at 2, I remember being floored by it when I realised that this toddler was reading me a story!

DD is 4.5 and can recognise most letters but can't read more than a couple of words, including her name.

There is a good chance that an early reader will end up on the G&T register, but it isn't a given. Many early starters plateau whilst their peers catch up. Many late starters race ahead once they get the hang of it.

If your child enjoys learning letters and reading, then why not go with it? If the child isn't ready to learn then it won't go in without supreme effort anyway.

Having two children is great, because you can see the differences. DS1 had very little interest in the alphabet but has picked it up very quickly in his first term at reception in school.

DS2 seems to be a bit forward and already knows most letters and numbers at just 3. I'm a bit over-educated myself but it embarrasses me because I think people must be thinking "Pushy parent" when he's shouting out car number plates.

We haven't pushed either of them but really kids vary so much. Both of them are hopeless at drawing/colouring compared to other children at nursery, I just try not to be too worried about it.

My 4.5 year old knows a few letters, not all of them.

She seems normal compared to the other children around here.

My older two certainly didn't know them at 2 or 3 but they are both good and keen readers now.

My DD was given foam bath letters & numbers for Christmas when she was 2.5.

She adored them, and knew all the letters and numbers within a cople of months and would point them out when we were out at the shops.

We didn't push her, honest

I don't think it is necessarily a sign of greater intelligence. Other children are interested in other things - my DS, now 18 months wants to know how all things electrical work.

Lol. We have those foam bath letters. The significance has passed my 4yo by. She plays with them. but it doesn't sink in.

I work in a primary school reception class and we get children that range from those that do not know any letter sounds (these are taught before letter names) and those that know some of them (probably around 1/3 on average). It's not uncommon for the children to know the sounds of the letters in their name. Don't worry, most schools will periodically assess children to see what sounds they know and phonics are taught daily in class - I wouldn't worry about it, all of them know them in time!!

I work in a primary school reception class and we get children that range from those that do not know any letter sounds (these are taught before letter names) and those that know some of them (probably around 1/3 on average). It's not uncommon for the children to know the sounds of the letters in their name. Don't worry, most schools will periodically assess children to see what sounds they know and phonics are taught daily in class - I wouldn't worry about it, all of them know them in time!!

Sorry, should have read your original message properly (sleep deprivation!!). He sounds very bright! It's quite unusual at his age I guess but lots of children latch on to something that engages them, in your son's case letters!, and the real challenge will come much later when he uses those letter sounds to blend them and make words. I do know of one child in our pre-school next door who knew all her letter sounds by age 3 and could recite all the letter names, too!!