Does your year 1 child read to themselves at home?

[Showerscreen]

DD is year 1 but summer born so still 5.

We have read to her all her life.

She reads her school books at home (they have to read 5 per week). She reads the Oxford Reading Tree books (Biff, Chip Kipper etc) and is on level 6 (orange label). She seems to find these ok, probably one or two “new” or tricky words for her in each book.

She is so reluctant to read the school books it is painful. I have come to hate it but obviously try to be jolly & encouraging.

She is totally reluctant to read anything else for herself out of school. She likes being read to. she has a book shelf of beautiful books.

If we are out and about, she will say “what does that sign say” and refuses to read it herself.

The other year one parents say their kids are reading Roald Dahl, David Walliams, Worst Witch etc which is so far ahead of DD’s level

Should I be worried?

Same here. My kid's in the mid to older range and started reading to herself about two months ago.

My winter born year 1 suddenly started reading to herself, she’s not on proper story books yet but is science and animal mad so she has a few fact books she likes. I think these are really accessible because they come in tiny bite size chunks so she doesn’t have to retain loads of information and can mostly work each little nugget out by herself. She likes listening to much more complex stories - we’ve just finished the first Paddington book - but she wouldn’t be able to read those herself just yet. I don’t know what reading level she is on but can read a lot of two and three syllable words quite competently.

I wouldn’t be too worried at the moment. I found children learning to read brought out the worst type of bragging in some parents. Decoding the words is hugely important but what is also essential
is comprehending the story. I very much doubt that those parents ask their children what the David Walliams book is about; they just want to brag. in my humble opinion there are far better books to brag about your child reading.

Here too but they’re all so different! I found some animé comics for DS and he hoovered those up. I think finding something that grabs their interest to get them going helps. He won’t read books but he’ll read anything ‘quirky’ - and short! I’ve just bought wizards & wonders from International Elf Service which looks good. He loves their elf letters.
And the more I nag, the less he reads! Argh I’ve learnt that one!|

I wouldn't worry, my year 1 daughter (just turned 6) cannot read or write properly yet, she is way behind and apparently working at a reception level, we encourage her alot but all kids are different, she is on a cahms waiting list though for signs of adhd.

Year 1?! Me thinks the other parents are lying! 😂
my eldest is a September born reception child and whilst they read their school reading books well, they are nowhere near reading the likes of Roald Dahl etc!!! They don’t even want to be read them really! I can’t believe this time next year they will be ready for that either!

@Showerscreen I have two kids only slightly older then yours, and ok me younger one. Sounds like you are doing great, lots of reading to your child is brilliant. As for them doing their own reading, my thought process has always been….

”I want to teach my child to enjoy reading, not just teach them to read”.

if your child doesn’t want to read then don't worry, and push them too much. When they are interested they might attempt to do more then one a night. But over pushing and making it sound like a homework task the have rather then something nice to do together can really put them off.

one of the way I tried to make it more fun/achievable for my middle one (who really un keen to read at home) was I gave him one work that was his to say within books I read to him. Eg “the”. He knew this was his word, I read with the pages facing him, and when the word “the” came up I stopped talking & pointed at it. He knew it was his turn so said it on autopilot but was all so looking at it. A week later he was responsible for “the” & “a” , a week after that “the”, “a” & “said” etc.
we then changed it up where I asked him to point at the word “dog” for example, so he had to point all those words out before I started reading. Meant he was scanning line by himself and I knew he recognised letters/words.

he slowly got used to “reading” at home. But like I said, think about it as teaching them to enjoy reading more than anything. And good luck 🤞

My year 2 DD just turned 7. In year 1 she said she hated reading, although she was capable and was on chapter books (i.e had completed the phonics books.) in the last couple of months all of a sudden she loves reading and is now whizzing through roald Dahl, secret seven and all sorts of others. I don’t think you should be worried at the moment

Have you considered getting a Yoto? It is an audio player and lots of parents use it so the child can read alongside it. I think it helps to develop a love of books in a whole different way.

My year 1 DS occasionally reads alone and enjoys reading together BUT he is autumn born so has a big advantage over summer born children. He is pretty fluent with reading and definitely could read Roald Dahl but I think it would be too taxing to really enjoy it. We don’t bother with the school books though, they are rubbish, never suited to the child’s actual capability and we just seem to get the same one’s constantly (I get the impression stocks are low as they’ve started charging for lost books).

As others have said every child is unique and learns in different ways and at different paces (as school constantly tell us and then use the same old formula every. single. time!) anyway, my oldest read happily to herself but not prolifically AT ALL - is currently Year 8 and has the reading age of 16 years 10 months (which is how they 'test' it in her secondary school) and teachers often comment on her range of vocabulary and command of complex whatnots. DD 2 was suspected of dyslexia at year 2, took to year 6 to get a proper diagnosis, is now in year 7. Avoids reading at all costs across all age ranges (as you would expect I guess if you found it uncomfortable to read!) but picked it up fine and has a reading age consistent to her actual age after adjustment for her dyslexia. DD3, currently in year 4, smarty-pants, reads more advanced stuff but only when absolutely has to and yet passed all her spelling tests naturally and the teacher thinks she's doing great. What I'm saying is that, firstly if she's got neither a want to read or an aptitude for it, maybe keep an eye out for dyslexia as it goes undiagnosed in schools for a LONG time before anyone will catch it if you don't. And if she just doesn't love reading, is she doing okay? if so what's the rush with pressing through mountains of reading? Some kids love reading (I certainly did) and some just don't - doesn't mean they'll be behind when everything works out

5 books a week is a lot!!! My year 1 daughter (who goes to an Ofsted outstanding school) only has to read for 10 minutes 5x a week. We get given 1 book and are told to read as far as we can get in that 10 minutes. If we have read it we read it again (as repetition builds confidence). My daughter is coming along nicely.

I think 5yr olds reading roald Dahl is probably rare so I wouldn't worry about that.

The other year one parents say their kids are reading Roald Dahl, David Walliams, Worst Witch etc which is so far ahead of DD’s level

😂 bullshit!! Children at that age have a huge range of reading abilities. There will be kids who love reading, kids who hate reading, dyslexic children, distracted children…

At year 1 you should be focusing on praising her for what she’s good at and building her self esteem and confidence. Confidence takes children a lot further than reading ability.

Do try to find books she likes. Mine ‘read’ to themselves from about 2 years old. When tired they would take themselves off to our book corner and leaf through a picture book.
She might like a sticker book, or lift the flap facts or maybe try the where’s wally books. It doesn’t need to involve reading but it would be good to encourage a love of books.
Ive just had the first high school parents evening for dd and several teachers said they could tell she read. Her history teacher asked if she watched lots of history stuff on YouTube as she often knows things before they are taught. She was pleased to hear she has big thick history books she loves to read.
I personally think at her age one ‘biff,kipper’ type reading book per week is enough. That way you can go back over it lots of time and make sure she is solid on all the words.

I wouldn't worry about it. I know loads of people who are avid readers now but didn't start reading for pleasure until they were teenagers, even.

One thing I will say is if she's already reading 5 books a week, that doesn't leave her much time to read something she really likes. I love reading, but don't read when I have to read a lot for studying or work because I have had enough for that week.

Absolutely don’t be worried.

i have 2 kids, ds (9) who hates to read and was just like ur dd. And dd (6) who is a great reader.

ds refuses to read, tried every book under the sun to peak his interest but just doesn’t want to. It’s that bad that we jokingly ask him if he even can read! However you go to his parents nights and apparently he’s a great reader and in the top group.

Our school has an annoyingly lax policy on homework so reading books aren’t really on offer outside of class so we don’t have that pressure. We are always told homework should be an enjoyable experience.

id ask her teacher how she is getting on in class and if the teacher is concerned then ask for advice. It could be as simple as she just doesn’t like reading.

Some children just don’t enjoy reading, I love reading, DS loved reading (less so now as a teenager), DD less interested and like your child not at all interested in the school books, it was so painful trying to get her to read them and so disappointing she didn’t share our love of books. If your DD still enjoys story time, I would try to get her to read small parts of them. I used to say “my voice is tired, I need a break, but if you can read that page, I’ll read another two.” That had its own challenges because the books DD enjoyed listening too were much harder to read than the books from school but at least she was trying. She’s 10 now, she’s still not as much of book worn as DS was but she can read!

Also as others have said, what she lacked in reading she made up for in other areas, she was much better at maths than DS for example.

If she's on the orange books she's not behind, she's right on track. My DD is summer born and in Y1, she is a good reader and loves being read to but has no interest in reading for pleasure yet, it'll come eventually. Tbh it sounds like some of those parents are exaggerating, you'll always get the occasional kid who is fantastic at reading and motoring their way through a Roald Dahl book every night at that age, but the majority definitely aren't.

Tbh 5 school reading books a week is a lot, and for a kid who isn't enjoying the books it's going to create negative associations, nobody is going to love something they are forced to do constantly against their will. I'd have her read 2 school books a week, then read things with her that are more aligned with her interests the rest of the time and pop that in her reading log. My DD hates the school books, but she'll read her children's encyclopedia (with my help) quite happily.

My year 1 child reads books for pleasure, (mainly those Rainbow Magic fairy ones) but she is Sept born.

Not at all. There is a huge range of ability and interest to learn mixed with varying levels of parental input in all year groups. These in their various combinations leaves teachers with a class that can have many years (in terms of reading age) difference between the top and bottom readers, with the outliers at either end being far spaced from the bulk of the cohort in the middle. Would you also think it untrue that there are DCs in yr6 who are still on reception and yr1 level books? (Usually the result of long-overlooked SEN) If not, why do you doubt there are DCs at the opposite end of the spectrum?

FWIW, my youngest is Summer born, was actively choosing to read easier Roald Dahls amongst other shorter chapter books by this point of yr1 and had full comprehension. She would come over to read the funny bits out to me. She went into reception already able to read sentences, thanks to lockdown and following her older sister's daily phonics lessons around the kitchen table. Starting school already very familiar with the school's phonics scheme, coupled with an interest and ability, she picked it up very quickly.
There will be plenty of things other DCs do much better than her, but in this area she is an outlier and IME there are usually 1 or 2 in every class. There are also DCs who learn to ride a bike without stabilisers at 2yo (a DC who went to preschool with DD2 did) and those who still can't at 10yo (a boy in DD1's class) and might never learn, but most will learn between 4 to 6yo. It's the same thing.
As for not even enjoying listening to those sorts of books being read to them, that is unusual. Our village school does an annual trip to the Roald Dahl museum at the start of yr2, so the expectation is they are already familiar with a number of his books. By the time they are read to the DCs in school in the run up, they are accessible to most in the class to listen to and understand. An average-achieving DC in the class, particularly an Autumn-born, should be able to access them in this way already, even if not able to read them independently yet.

My eldest is in Y1, just turned 6, and according to school she’s well ahead of the average in her reading, but would whinge endlessly at having to read the phonics books that come from school. It was a battle to get her to read 3 pages, much less the whole thing. They are just insanely dull if you ask me 🙈 So in the end we gave up on those. She still reads them at school, but at home we read our own books. Most of the time me or DH read to her (and her sister) but she has started wanting to read parts by herself too. I say if your DD doesn’t like those books, find ones that she does like, her interest in reading books will come from interest in the actual story! ☺️

PS: She would absolutely not manage Roald Dahl yet, those parents are having you on 🤣 and if they’re not, please be reassured that is NOT the average at all!

I would be taking the other parents assertions their kids are independently reading books that are so clearly above a year 1 level with a large pinch of salt
i think a book a day is a lot personally so if she's progressing just be confident she's doing well.
don't underestimate her age also that summer baby situation is hard for most of infants as you're comparing kids almost a year older when it comes to progress x

My 13yo is summer born, she didn't even properly start reading til year 2 or 3, she was quite behind and barely blending in year 1. She certainly was nowhere near reading for pleasure. She's now about to go in to year 10 and reads well, is in top groups and school and all those years of me stressing about it when she was younger were a pointless waste of my time. So please don't worry, it sounds as though she's reading very well to be on stage 6, that's a great level. Let her go at her own pace