4 ms·

I tried to teach my kids reading when they were 3, after hearing about early readers on HN. I gave up after a few attempts because they didn't seem to grasp the

I tried to teach my kids reading when they were 3, after hearing about early readers on HN. I gave up after a few attempts because they didn't seem to grasp the difference between the letters I started with. I felt like they just weren't ready.

lelanthran 3y ago
> I tried to teach my kids reading when they were 3, after hearing about early readers on HN. I gave up after a few attempts because they didn't seem to grasp the difference between the letters I started with. I felt like they just weren't ready. More likely that they were ready, and you weren't :-) It's important to establish the routine and to never deviate from it. It's also important to ensure that the child never interrupts the lesson with something distracting (I always say "We're still in the lesson, we will look at that in a few minutes"). This is important, I found, as once you reach a specific tempo/cadence during a lesson, you don't want to disrupt that tempo.
- Auracle 3y ago
  Unless you absolutely force them, their interest is a huge factor in what they’ll learn. I started to read when I was 2 (presumably late 2), and my parents did nothing special but read to me. I just wanted to read, I was really into it, and I was able to associate the letters with the sounds.
  - lelanthran 3y ago
    > Unless you absolutely force them, their interest is a huge factor in what they’ll learn. Whether you like it or not, at some point you are going to absolutely force them to learn something. Whether that is by sending them to a school, or teaching them yourself. Most children would rather not spend time on a lesson if they could spend that time playing.
    - Foobar8568 3y ago
      Incorrect, it depends of the value you pass down to your kids.
      - lelanthran 3y ago
        > Incorrect, it depends of the value you pass down to your kids. At some point, they will be unwilling to listen to you, so you have to enforce something or else you won't be passing down any values to them. Kids don't magically know what is best for them. What we do is we force a routine until it becomes routine and then you don't have to force it anymore. Brushing teeth? Some nights/mornings the kid will simply say no. Wearing clothes? Sometimes your toddler will simply say no. Eating veggies? Sometimes your kid will simply say no. Whatever you do to get them to change their mind (cajoling, threatening, bribing) is, exactly, forcing your will on the child. There is no such thing as raising a child without having to enforce some rules.
    - viraptor 3y ago
      Kind of true, but also, what is a game and what is a lesson/chore is a very fuzzy line. My 2yo spent a long time picking up tree clippings and putting them into the bin, because it was fun and he could wear oversized gloves. Was it work/learning, yes. Was it play, also yes. The trend of gamification is trying to maximise that effect in many scenarios.
      - lelanthran 3y ago
        We try to make everything a game ("Let's see who can remain quietest the longest"), but even the slowest child sooner or later tires of a particular game. This is why I say make it a routine, not a game, because then it's a given, not a negotiation. So, sure, you can make it a game to brush teeth each night, but then you have problems the night that the kid want's to play a different game with the toothbrush. Making it a routine avoids that problem altogether.
    - Auracle 3y ago
      True. I just question doing it (too much) at such an early age, if only because every time they play when they're 2 years old they're also probably learning as well. Just last night my daughter was putting Hotwheels down a ramp in different ways, trying to do 2 at once, etc.
Foobar8568 3y ago
Daughter is highly intelligent (everyone says their kids is super, marvelous, gifted until they met her, then they never use these words with me...), I don't remember when she actually started reading but within 2 weeks she could decipher any text (phonic base learning, less than 20min a day), I think she was 3 and a half. Until that point, she was interested by "reading", "writings" etc but clearly not ready : I was showing the first phonic in the book ( sssss sound ), and she would just say something else, yet I was sure she could recognize words. So don't blame yourself, a kid is ready when he wants, just expose him to books, read for him etc.

lelanthran 3y ago

> I tried to teach my kids reading when they were 3, after hearing about early readers on HN. I gave up after a few attempts because they didn't seem to grasp the difference between the letters I started with. I felt like they just weren't ready. More likely that they were ready, and you weren't :-) It's important to establish the routine and to never deviate from it. It's also important to ensure that the child never interrupts the lesson with something distracting (I always say "We're still in the lesson, we will look at that in a few minutes"). This is important, I found, as once you reach a specific tempo/cadence during a lesson, you don't want to disrupt that tempo.

Auracle 3y ago
Unless you absolutely force them, their interest is a huge factor in what they’ll learn. I started to read when I was 2 (presumably late 2), and my parents did nothing special but read to me. I just wanted to read, I was really into it, and I was able to associate the letters with the sounds.
- lelanthran 3y ago
  > Unless you absolutely force them, their interest is a huge factor in what they’ll learn. Whether you like it or not, at some point you are going to absolutely force them to learn something. Whether that is by sending them to a school, or teaching them yourself. Most children would rather not spend time on a lesson if they could spend that time playing.
  - Foobar8568 3y ago
    Incorrect, it depends of the value you pass down to your kids.
    - lelanthran 3y ago
      > Incorrect, it depends of the value you pass down to your kids. At some point, they will be unwilling to listen to you, so you have to enforce something or else you won't be passing down any values to them. Kids don't magically know what is best for them. What we do is we force a routine until it becomes routine and then you don't have to force it anymore. Brushing teeth? Some nights/mornings the kid will simply say no. Wearing clothes? Sometimes your toddler will simply say no. Eating veggies? Sometimes your kid will simply say no. Whatever you do to get them to change their mind (cajoling, threatening, bribing) is, exactly, forcing your will on the child. There is no such thing as raising a child without having to enforce some rules.
  - viraptor 3y ago
    Kind of true, but also, what is a game and what is a lesson/chore is a very fuzzy line. My 2yo spent a long time picking up tree clippings and putting them into the bin, because it was fun and he could wear oversized gloves. Was it work/learning, yes. Was it play, also yes. The trend of gamification is trying to maximise that effect in many scenarios.
    - lelanthran 3y ago
      We try to make everything a game ("Let's see who can remain quietest the longest"), but even the slowest child sooner or later tires of a particular game. This is why I say make it a routine, not a game, because then it's a given, not a negotiation. So, sure, you can make it a game to brush teeth each night, but then you have problems the night that the kid want's to play a different game with the toothbrush. Making it a routine avoids that problem altogether.
  - Auracle 3y ago
    True. I just question doing it (too much) at such an early age, if only because every time they play when they're 2 years old they're also probably learning as well. Just last night my daughter was putting Hotwheels down a ramp in different ways, trying to do 2 at once, etc.

Foobar8568 3y ago

Daughter is highly intelligent (everyone says their kids is super, marvelous, gifted until they met her, then they never use these words with me...), I don't remember when she actually started reading but within 2 weeks she could decipher any text (phonic base learning, less than 20min a day), I think she was 3 and a half. Until that point, she was interested by "reading", "writings" etc but clearly not ready : I was showing the first phonic in the book ( sssss sound ), and she would just say something else, yet I was sure she could recognize words. So don't blame yourself, a kid is ready when he wants, just expose him to books, read for him etc.