4 year old reading level

[MsGus]

Hi, my son is 4 (will be 5 in Nov). He is now on ORT level 7. I know that this is good so I am very happy for him. He understands the stories very well and his teachers have progressed him through the stages by getting him to read every day and they also check his comprehension.

So my concern? Whilst I appreciate this is something to celebrate I wonder what the downsides might be. I can't help but think there must be downsides. For example will he get bored soon?

I don't talk about reading levels with other mums and I don't have other kids so I don't have prior experience.

Apologies if my concern seems bizarre.

Please don't buy into the mumsnet narrative that a high-achieving child will automatically be bored at school. Funnily enough, it tends to be largely the children of parents who expect them to be bored at school, who are.

Why borrow trouble? Just enjoy discovering the world of literature with your son.

No, there's no downside for being able to read early.
It just opens up so many doors. Not just for literacy, whatever interests your dc.
No way he can get bored, there's so many books to read.

I could read very young. No downsides. Just got to the good stuff a lot quicker. I got moved up a year later on in primary but I don't think it was necessary.

My ds is 5 and on red, and I think school would be more enjoyable for him once reading clicks for him, so don't look for clouds when the sky is blue is my feeling.

How long has he been at school though - by his age I would have thought he'd just started reception, that is short space of time to have assessed his reading level?

No downsides here. They just found school learning easier as could already read so gained a lot of confidence at being able to answer the questions and complete work quickly. They then were given additional work or some fun activities or allowed to read

School is about learning, but for us it's more children learning to be social, making friends and having fun.

In 2 years time the whole class will be fluent readers so it's only a couple of years to use other skills.

My ds could read well before he started school. He Hates reading now-once you can read you can read, a skill mastered, it's not a race.
Of course all reading can help language development, spelling, grammar, imagination and it's great for leisure. No down sides at all.
My ds went on to excel at maths and sport, still gutted that he doesn'ttake pleasure in reading as I am a complete bookworm

Thanks everyone. That's reassuring. I was seriously considering asking his teachers to slow things down.

Satsuki, he started what is equivalent to pre-Reception last year (Dec) and started proper reception this month.

He likes books but would much rather play than read. So he is not someone who is a bookworm. I realise that he reads well but don't want any unecessary pressure or attention on him in case that turns him off. I just want him to be left alone to develop peacefully and I dread the teachers might want to talk to me about it.

I'm sure I am not articulating my concerns very well. Perhaps I'm worried because I don't know what it means for him to be noticeable above his peers.

But your responses have made me happy because it appears I am worried about nothing. I'm probably being too protective.

Oh I see, thanks.

I think if it's a good school they will still be able to stretch him where necessary without setting him apart.

Like I say I was moved up a year and it wasn't beneficial; it just messed up my social groups. By the end of school there were lots of other fluent readers. I still enjoyed reading, for example, Roald Dahl, even though I could read Jane Austen at home. There were other areas I wasn't so strong in, I had more time to develop those.

He'll find his way.

With my ds, he loves books and has very good comprehension far beyond his decoding skills, and it is shitty to be honest to see that enthusiasm for reading battered out of him by making him actually try and read

And yes just because they can now do one thing, doesn't mean they won't want to do other things they did before

Ds1 is 6. The other day he spent an hour pulling baby 4-6 piece wooden puzzles out of the bag destined for charity and playing with them. Despite the fact he can do 500 piece puzzles now

Thanks. I really appreciate reading the advice here. Very reassuring. It's so difficult sometimes to know what is in the best interest of our kids.

The only downside is that the content of the books he is able to read might be above his maturity as aimed at older child. My DCs have sometime found certain books upsetting as aimed at older kids especially non-fiction.

My 2 were like this. They are now 8 and 10 and still voracious readers!