What is the best age to teach a toddler how to read using Phonics?

[Beth1234]

Hey all again :)

Just wondering what the best age is to start teaching a child how to read? Is 3 a bit too young? While I believe it is still very young, I've also heard about kids being like sponges up until a certain age and so no harm in introducing it to them, especially those who seem to be interested. At that age I believe the best way is to make a game out of it, only for about 10-20 mins a day, 3-4 times a week. Anyone taught their kid how to read at such a tender age? If so is it a good idea? Of course bearing in mind, let a kid be a kid and do as they please the rest of the time.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks heaps in advance

Beth xxx

I have never heard of Elmhurst Primary School, nor Dr. Jonathon Solity.

But I am aware of the UK Medical Research Council, and it is their figure that 10% of children have some degree of APD, not mine.

The issue is about the cognitive skills required to perform the task of reading, and if a child is give adequate support to develop compensating cognitive skills to work around any auditory processing deficit may have. This can not be done when using any phonics based program. This is not about eventually being able to read, but how a child learns to read, and how a child is provided with the cognitive skills they require to work around any cognitive deficits they may have. many who have APD learn to read like I did despite phonics, having to develop our own methods of reading based on our won version of a whole word approach, while being called stupid by peers and teachers because we can not use phonics.

And teachers are not able to define how any child actual learners to read, as they are not able to carry out the required neuroimaging which can identify the areas of activity in the brain when performing the task of reading. So they can not say which type of program is most suitable for those who may have an information processing deficit. So you you can not possible have any scientific data as to how children actually learn to read, you can only make assumptions or guess.
And it is in your own interest to distort the data in favour of phonics, and until there is an independent Educational Research Council, run on similar line to the Medical Research Council there will be no realistic data on these issues only marketing material to support the sales of the various programs each provider sells. And you are very closely associated with Ruth Miskins and her marketing needs.
International research has recognised the need to use both phonics and whole word to develop the various areas of the brain involved in the task of reading, both the lexical and sublexical functions. While those who are not able to use whole word can focus on phonics, and those who can not use phonics can focus on a whole word approach, and there may even be others who need a more kineasthetic teaching method. This is about finding the teaching methods that best suites each childs learning needs, which can vary according to vary stages of the cognitive development, until the age of 7 - 8 years of age, The age of maturation.
This is about not having a one size fits all, which is statistically impossible, although you do your best to distort the figures.

I know how you hate reading research papers, abstracts and following links to bodies of international scientific information. But i will provided you with two links not that you will ever follow them. To two of my online PubMed research paper collections, (where each paper will always have links to more related papers)
My PubMed Reading research paper collection (which includes 208 research papers of which 42 are Free Full Text and others may be available at Google docs)
and My Dorsal and Ventral Streams - functional anatomy of language collection (51 papers of which 7 are Free Full Text)

Unfortunately we do not have the same quality of research advising the UK education system and providing the understanding of our children cognitive learning needs. We have mainly lobby groups, marketing hype, and the old wives tales of "what works", no real scientific research at all.

Jonathan Solity

You haven't answered my question, dolfrog. Nor do I think that you have followed my links.

Here they are again:

Elmhurst Primary: www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmsctech/44/44we33.htm

Jonathon Solity: www.isec2000.org.uk/abstracts/papers_s/solity.htm

Why is it that teachers and researchers in the field of initial reading instruction produce results which contradict what you are proclaiming in your posts?

Do you think they are lying?

And another question. Have you actually read, in full, the vast numbers of research papers you keep pointing me to?

Resist, resist, resist! The reason many children stop being information sponges at a certain point is for exactly this kind of thing. Of course don't avoid answering questions, but just be content that they will go to school raring to go and won't get bored. They can learn very, very quickly indeed, and won't get left behind. You don't have to be the one to teach everything, and early hothousing really almost always leads to later disaffection in my book (ex primary teacher). Enjoy the early bit without pressure!! It comes soon enough...

Personally I wouldn't set out to teach a three year old to read. I would spend lots of time sharing books, singing songs and rhymes and enjoying stories (they don't always need to be written down). I disagree with missmehalia that being able to read will result in boredom and wouldn't prevent a child who is obviously interested in learning to read.

My ds was able to read simple books at the age of 3. This was not a conscious decision by dh or myself to teach him to read it was something that happened organically from him sitting on our laps to listen to stories and looking at the pages of the books.

He use to ask us what the letters / words were on the page so we would tell him e.g. 'That is the letter A and it sounds like a' much in the way he learnt what animals were ' that is a dog it makes the sound woof'.

Ds also has a mind that remembers things as soon as he is told them so he was able to read words like the, said, her etc.

My dd, who also knew her phonics before starting school because of her elder brother, refused to amalgamate her knowledge until she was actually at school. However, by the first Christmas she was reading the books from the year 2 classroom.

If your dc is showing an interest follow mrz advice as this is what we did with our two.

I am a yer 1 teacher and never set about teaching my DS1 phonics. However, when he was 3 he was routing through my teaching bag and discovered a phonics is fun dvd that I used with my class, he asked if he could watch it and I let him. He loved that dvd and watched it many times, even though it drove me potty! Anyway he is about to start school this sept and knows all of his letter sounds and most diagraph. I have not encouraged him to read in any way, he loves stories but shows no sign of wanting to read independently, yet but he is now starting to blend cvc words independently.
I have not done sit down teaching with him but we do make up lots of rhymes and play rhyming games, we also read a great variety of stories.

I taught my dd1 to read at 3 and she wasn't bored or at all disruptive at school! She joined year 1 for phonics and is still ahead after a year of school. I believe the early start I gave her was an advantage. She is about to enter Year 1 reading at NC Level 2C. She was ready for reading though - not all dcs are at this age.

dd2 is able to read at 3.5 and has another year to go before starting school. She won't be bored - a good school will meet her needs and she has so many other things to learn at school :)

When they are interested, otherwise 7!

We show our 7 month old colourful books each day after breakfast,she plays with flashcards by choice if left with a pile on the floor.She shows an interest if we are reading and loves the pictures in adverts. It's baby led, so go with what baby/child shows an interest in I think, no pressure, just have fun and share the experience of being together and connecting with your child. Tiny seeds grow gradually, if you enjoy something I am sure baby will pick up on it too. xx

If your child is interested in books then keep doing what you are doing. My dd (now aged 8) only began reading- in Hungarian- in January. She is now in an International School and although behind her class she is catching up fast. DS is 6 and still does not read although I am convinced that this will happen soon. My Kids love books and that is what I encourage. Don't feel pressured to have an early reader. There is plenty of time!

stromnessdundee - you are not in the UK though I assume. If a child doesn't read at age 6 (after 2 years of being taught) everyone assumes there is some sort of problem. Its sad.

My DS started (had to, unless we had chosen to home educate) school at just 4, I felt he was too young. Now at 6 he can read but doesn't enjoy it and he doesn't read. I hope this will change in time.

I think it needs to be child led. Ds is 2.4 and knows all his letter sounds as he was massively interested in them for a while ( he's into numbers more now). When we read, I encourage him to talk about the pictures in the story/ tell the story himself and we do rhymes, songs, I spy etc if he wants to. He can blend orally eg if I say m-a-n he'll say man but I wouldn't expect him to blend words for reading yet. 10-20 mins in one go is far too long at this age, more like 2-5 mins, but you could initiate it several times a day if your dc is interested.

DS1 (just turned 4, not at school until next year) can read pretty much fluently. We never 'decided' to teach him, though, nor would we have done. It was more a case of not being able to stop him!! Basically, by answering all the questions he asked, he learned to read, first through phonics but quite quickly through word recognition - he kind of can't be bothered with phonics any more (though that does make it harder for him to decode new words). He does have possible Aspergers, though, so probably not a very typical example. I agree with most of the others on here - you need to be child-led. I do worry a bit about the 'he'll be bored at school' concept, though. A good school should be able to manage differential teaching, and I don't think you should deliberately hold your child back just because you're worried about them being bored.

DD (just turned 3) loves books, knows what letters are and she knows you read from left to right. I only teach her more if she wants to learn, but what is important now, and for the next couple of years, is that we expand her language and social skills and teach her about the world she lives in. We read lots, in 2 languages, talk lots, play games and do all the stuff 3 year olds should do - learning to read and jolly phonics I don't think are one of those things 3, 4 and even 5 year olds should be doing.