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I learned the alphabet at school, aged 5 or so, after I’d already been reading for a few years - I mean, I knew the letters and phonemes, but learning them in a

I learned the alphabet at school, aged 5 or so, after I’d already been reading for a few years - I mean, I knew the letters and phonemes, but learning them in a specific order just seemed so arbitrary - because it is. My parents read to me from a very early age, with the specific goal of getting me reading as early as possible in mind - and it worked. I still remember the “holy shit” moment when I finally decrypted Spot the Dog, which they must have read to me three times a day for months on end. I was reading ladybird books by the time I was 2.5, and Enid Blyton from aged 3 or so. From then on I preferred reading for myself, as it was faster, and I wasn’t reliant on a narrator who got bored after a chapter. I was hooked on stories - tv wasn’t really a thing, as we lived overseas and I was getting confused enough between Cantonese and English as it was - so I read books. I was ahead throughout school, started university at 16 - I think mostly because my precocious and voracious reading had given me a store of knowledge and connections between concepts that my peers just didn’t have. I went through the entire popular science section at the junior school library in my first year, and then just coasted my way through class, while continuing to read on all subjects. There wasn’t much I was taught in class I didn’t already know. So, I think it’s very much about early investment in reading - it encourages curiosity, and giving a knowledge hungry child the tools to have an infinite world of deep information available to them forges lifelong habits. I still read a book a week, give or take, and still thirst for more knowledge.

ddrdrck_ 7y ago
You seem to believe that it is because your parents were reading a lot to you that you were able to read by yourself at the age of 4. We read books to our daughter at least 1 hour a day since she is maybe 1 year old. Yet she does not know or is even willing to read by herself, as most children of her age, which seems perfectly normal to us. But she already developed a love for books that will certainly be very useful to her for studies and entertainment. This is what we should aim for as parents.
- jacobolus 7y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlexia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlexia is a rare but real thing. But if parents are super dedicated to the goal of getting their kid to read as early as possible, and spend hours per day on reading drills, it’s probably not impossible for most kids to start independently reading simple books by 2.5 or 3. I’m not convinced this is a goal particularly worth prioritizing, compared to development of other skills. YMMV. A lot surely comes down to the personality and preferences of the kid.
  - ddrdrck_ 7y ago
    I know it is possible for a few "special" kids to read at 2.5 or 3 (I didn't know about the word hyperlexia though, thanks for the link !). My point is that such kids will read very early, whether their parents are super dedicated or not (unless, of course, their parents have no book at all and never read which is unfortunately not so uncommon) On the other hand I am convinced "normal" kids won't read before 5, whatever you do and how hard you try. This makes it even more unworthy to try to reach such goal imho.
    - jacobolus 7y ago
      > I am convinced "normal" kids won't read before 5, whatever you do and how hard you try I am pretty sure a typical kid (say, at least 75% of all kids) could learn to read simple books by 3 if the parents were fanatical about it and spent hours every day prioritizing the kid learning to read per se, instead of focusing on broader goals. But it doesn’t seem to me like this is worth prioritizing so much, compared to all the other skills small kids should be practicing: gross motor control, strength, and stamina; fine motor skills; getting along with other kids; listening comprehension; logical reasoning; visual observation; understanding the behavior of physical objects; understanding living things; understanding their society and built environment; helping out with family chores; learning to take care of themselves; etc. Most kids end up learning to read at 5–7 years old instead because the parents spend time doing other things with them, the kids spend time on other activities, and often the parents have other things to do and the kids must entertain themselves. This is totally fine. My son is 3.5 and will probably be at the stage of reading simple books (say Green Eggs & Ham level) by about 4 or 4.5. I’m sure we could have gotten him to that point by 2.5 or 3 if we made it our top priority. But I’d much rather spend 1–2 hours per day reading a wide variety of enjoyable books to him and inculcating a love of books (not to mention practicing his listening comprehension, vocabulary, and general language skills) than spend that time on phonics drills.
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  > You seem to believe that it is because your parents were reading a lot to you that you were able to read by yourself at the age of 4. IIRC, there's evidence that (like many things) independent reading is driven by parents modelling the behavior (independent reading), rather than by parents reading to children.

ddrdrck_ 7y ago

You seem to believe that it is because your parents were reading a lot to you that you were able to read by yourself at the age of 4. We read books to our daughter at least 1 hour a day since she is maybe 1 year old. Yet she does not know or is even willing to read by herself, as most children of her age, which seems perfectly normal to us. But she already developed a love for books that will certainly be very useful to her for studies and entertainment. This is what we should aim for as parents.

jacobolus 7y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlexia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlexia is a rare but real thing. But if parents are super dedicated to the goal of getting their kid to read as early as possible, and spend hours per day on reading drills, it’s probably not impossible for most kids to start independently reading simple books by 2.5 or 3. I’m not convinced this is a goal particularly worth prioritizing, compared to development of other skills. YMMV. A lot surely comes down to the personality and preferences of the kid.
- ddrdrck_ 7y ago
  I know it is possible for a few "special" kids to read at 2.5 or 3 (I didn't know about the word hyperlexia though, thanks for the link !). My point is that such kids will read very early, whether their parents are super dedicated or not (unless, of course, their parents have no book at all and never read which is unfortunately not so uncommon) On the other hand I am convinced "normal" kids won't read before 5, whatever you do and how hard you try. This makes it even more unworthy to try to reach such goal imho.
  - jacobolus 7y ago
    > I am convinced "normal" kids won't read before 5, whatever you do and how hard you try I am pretty sure a typical kid (say, at least 75% of all kids) could learn to read simple books by 3 if the parents were fanatical about it and spent hours every day prioritizing the kid learning to read per se, instead of focusing on broader goals. But it doesn’t seem to me like this is worth prioritizing so much, compared to all the other skills small kids should be practicing: gross motor control, strength, and stamina; fine motor skills; getting along with other kids; listening comprehension; logical reasoning; visual observation; understanding the behavior of physical objects; understanding living things; understanding their society and built environment; helping out with family chores; learning to take care of themselves; etc. Most kids end up learning to read at 5–7 years old instead because the parents spend time doing other things with them, the kids spend time on other activities, and often the parents have other things to do and the kids must entertain themselves. This is totally fine. My son is 3.5 and will probably be at the stage of reading simple books (say Green Eggs & Ham level) by about 4 or 4.5. I’m sure we could have gotten him to that point by 2.5 or 3 if we made it our top priority. But I’d much rather spend 1–2 hours per day reading a wide variety of enjoyable books to him and inculcating a love of books (not to mention practicing his listening comprehension, vocabulary, and general language skills) than spend that time on phonics drills.
dragonwriter 7y ago
> You seem to believe that it is because your parents were reading a lot to you that you were able to read by yourself at the age of 4. IIRC, there's evidence that (like many things) independent reading is driven by parents modelling the behavior (independent reading), rather than by parents reading to children.