My baby can read

[MamaTuska]

I am new and this is my first post. I just want to know your opinion. My baby is recognising words by following what is written such as she claps when seeing a word. I assume this is ordinary. My DD is 13 months (she is my first), we speak to her in two languages and I use flash cards as she enjoys playing with them a lot. We do not use them everyday but she plays with them quite often. Is there anything else I can do to boost this ability.

I know this is a zombie thread but it's got me thinking, why ARE there so many parents pushing their children to grow up quickly? Why? They're little for such a short time, it's really really sad and I imagine the parents will regret it one day..

I love how some people are so sceptical.

My friends child is a friggin genious (not mine, er no, she's normal). This child could say about 200 words when mine said about 3. She plays the viola at grade 8 (age 10), is engaging and analytical. She is super super smart. Some people are.

Why does this bother people so much?

@tolerable

i dont disbelieve you or think ridiculous. but.i am the mum who put labels on everything within my toddlers reach. "door" "wall" etc.. there is a point where the transition from recognition to reading takes place. .many a rainy day spent muddling the signs around and little one selecting where should go. you wont convince the masses,but that doesnt matter.keep up the good work

I agree with this, word recognition is an important part of learning to read, especially for sounds that can’t be blended easily. I’d say there’s a good chance that she might struggle slightly with initial phonics if she’s bilingual but the benefits of that far, far outweigh the negatives so I’d let her get on with it.

I could definitely read at 3 and was able to read newspapers by 5. My dd otoh had no interest whatsoever. Your dd doesn’t sound exceptional. Just switched on. My dd is bright. But not exceptional. Idk why you felt the need to update.

My eldest has hyperlexia, it was actually hard because he recognised words but didn't always understand

Why does this bother people so much?

Because it's human nature or MN culture to drag people down to their level so they feel better about themselves. Scoffing and sneering is an easy way to protect their precious egos.

Stop! One day when your child is 3 you’ll be reading bedtime stories, tired and eager to be finished and away having adult time and the little tot will notice you’ve skipped a sentence and make you re read the whole page! Ignorance is bliss!! Seriously I don’t think there is much to be gained by reading early, it can have the opposite affect, I’d concentrate on reading books and singing songs! At almost 5 my son is just beginning to talk about which letters make which sounds and show an interest, pushing him earlier to learn would have backfired and it’s lovely to seen it develop naturally.

The OP’s kid is already 3.5, they updated the thread earlier today.

@MamaTuska

Hi all,

She loves books and we read plenty stories in both languages. Firstly she was showing the card as we were playing and waving when showing the card 'wave', clapping when picking up the card and as follows. She brought the card 'car' to the car she got from her grandparents. We keep the cards as part of the play time. Now, I show her a flash card and she recognise the words by following what is written.

Have you heard of "Clever Hans," the mathematical horse?

I don’t think people sceptical or bothered, I think most people think doing flash cards with a baby is a bit sad. Some children are genuine geniuses, sure, but a lot of what you see on MN is just tiger parenting which isn’t to be commended especially at such a young age. Children will generally learn what you teach them, they’re little sponges that are learn so much. At a certain point you need the intelligence to actually process, interpret and apply information and that’s when actual intelligence becomes clear. I have a fluently trilingual 5 year old that still doesn’t know some letters though (non UK so later here) so I’m clearly not a drilling parent!

My eldest could read simple books when he was 2.5. It turns out that early reading is a sign of autism, which my son turned out to have, also dyspraxia, epilepsy and ADD. I’m sure there are kids out there who are very bright and neurotypical but I’d say don’t push your child with flash cards etc and don’t be keen for your child to be different. My other, more ordinary, child is the one doing better now as he doesn’t have any issues.

Lol this is so stupid.

Also babies you are being spoken to in two languages are likely to be behind on the learning language spectrum (obviously because they need to learn it all twice)

@Luckytattie

Lol this is so stupid.

Also babies you are being spoken to in two languages are likely to be behind on the learning language spectrum (obviously because they need to learn it all twice)

But massively ahead in problem solving and cognitive function.

@Kittykat93

Just let her be a baby. Forget bloody flash cards

This in a nutshell. Retired teacher here. Everyone thinks their child is brilliant. She may be advanced, but flash cards? No! Engage her in interesting picture books, as others have said. She will learn at her own pace, advanced or not.

My DS could read age 3, sort of self taught. Only realised when he read something on a sign. I then tested him with words on a manga doodle, he could read cat, dog, red, blue, etc. Was reading Harry Potter age 6.

Got a 5 in his both his English GCSEs! So he didn’t continue being a great learner! Just fairly average.

Maybe it maybe better to post on Gifted and Talented board.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gifted_and_talented

Reading early can do all sort of good thing to the child, can open up so much doors.
My dc wanted to watch the tv etc with subtitles. Was able to read any words when starting school. Though understanding is the different matter. Just because she/he can read , doesn't mean they understand the context. If she is really good at pattern recognition, she could be really good at math too.
Anyways, people on G&T board maybe good place to ask for advice.

Mine recognised shop logos such as Boots and Sainsburys etc by around 18months. He never couldn’t read either iyswim? He never spelled out c.a.t for example, he just went straight into it.

I was an extremely early and prolific reader as well. I remember my infant school teacher taking me to the junior school library to choose reading books.

We never pushed my DS though, we read to him every day and he had lots of books to sit and play with but that was it.

He was distinctly average in his gcse’s and A levels though.

Snap, @Loubiemoo!

I don't want to alarm you OP but hyperliteracy (as I think it is called) is a red flag for ASD. I honestly wouldn't bother with flash cards for a baby anyway - just read stories to them!

hyperlexia I think actuallly not hyperliteracy

If you really thought it was normal you wouldn't have posted about it...

Yes, I think DS was hyperlexic. His brother has ASD.

The op came to mumsnet to ask for advice but an awful lot of you just stomping on her,maybe her very young child does recognise words

You mean Hyperlexia, Fancy?