Reading by 5?

[haleyelianasmom]

I was talking to a mom and her youngest child B is in preschool a couple days a week and she just turned 5. Anyways, she brought B to their doctor for her 5 year check-up and her doctor said that she should be reading. now the mom is all nervous thinking her daughter is behind because she can recognize letters, but can't read anything yet.

I was trying to tell her about some article I read stating that long term, there is no difference between kids who learn to read "early" and those who learn to read "late". Then I tried telling her about Waldorf schools where they discourage reading until age 7.

Anyone have any good info for me to share with her? i find it very odd that doctors take something that seems to have such a range and be so subjective to the child's personality, environment, readiness, etc. and make it a developmental milestone. Besides, long ago, wasn't Kindergarten where kids learned things like letters and sounds? I didn't know reading in preschool was the new norm. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[pianojazzgirl]

That sounds way out of whack to me. Around here they don't even start phonics or learning simple sight words or anything until 1st grade. Sorry, no references to site or anything, but I am totally sure that a 5 yr old not able to read is absolutely nothing to worry about.

ETA at our first meeting with dd's kindergarten teacher we mentioned that she had started to read, and the teacher was surprised. She assumed we meant that dd had memorized the story after we had read it a bunch of times, but we told her that dd was able to sound out words and knew a lot of words by sight. She said that that was unusual for kids in her class - and most of the kids she teaches are 6, or close to 6 (dd at 5.25 is the youngest in the class).

[Hedgehog Mtn]

DS1 now 9 couldn't STAND not being able to read and brought me his phonics book every day when he was 4 now he's often found reading anything he can get his hands on. He was satisfied only could read everything out the car window as we drove. DD now 7 and DS2 6 are pretty much learning together at the same pace. DD doesn't realize she has the letters and sounds down and has all the tools to read. She CAN read but focuses on things like the letter size (as in large early reader sizes or smaller letters in a different book) or that she doesn't "remember" ever seeing the word before. These are roadblocks that she has set up for herself and we work on them daily. DS 6 is cruising right along only a page or 2 behind sis.

In the end I'm amazed at the difference within just our family. DS 1 would have been frustrated and disappointed had I not taught him to read at 4, DD would likely have lifelong issues (or hatred) of reading if I'd pushed her at 5 or 6. She will eventually get it....she is getting there slowly but my ultimate goal is not how fast she learns but that she love reading as she gets older - that and I want her to be good at it. It's not worth fighter her and making her hate it. Every child is unique and the right time can very widely.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by haleyelianasmom

Anyone have any good info for me to share with her? i find it very odd that doctors take something that seems to have such a range and be so subjective to the child's personality, environment, readiness, etc. and make it a developmental milestone. Besides, long ago, wasn't Kindergarten where kids learned things like letters and sounds? I didn't know reading in preschool was the new norm. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I agree with you. There is too much of difference from kid to kid to even make it a milestone, but rather a range. Perhaps your friend misunderstood and the pedi was asking if her dd was recognizing familiar words that are around her all the time... her own name, mommy, daddy, sibling's names, traffic signs (like STOP), etc. There's no deadline for learning to read. I've seen 2 yo children reading fluently and I've seen 8 yo children still struggling. If this pedi was serious, I'd find a new pedi.

[racheepoo]

Pill isn't reading in kindergarten at 5.5 yo, and I was reading chapter books at his age. It's just so subjective and I think the pedi is a little out of whack here.

[maplesugar]

I can't believe any doctor would say this. Do kids really need to be reading at five now? Ds was no where near reading at age five. In preschool. The poor mother is stressed for nothing.

[MJB]

Reading in preschool *isn't* the new norm. My son is in a 4yo preschool class (they'll be in K in the fall) and while several kids are doing beginning phonics and sight words, the majority are not. My son is the only one who reads fluently. The teacher is still doing letter of the week with the class. My oldest son couldn't read at all until 6 and he's almost 7 now, reading fine at 1st grade level. He didn't really get it until last fall at 6.5-6.75.

[aelf]

I would suggest she find a new pediatrician who's familiar with cognitive development. While some children are reading by 5, it is by no means the standard. I'd be concerned that a doctor who's so uninformed might also not catch important things like a child not crossing the midline.

Rather than inundating with her studies about the cognitive development of children, I would recommend she call the local elementary school and ask what the expectations are for a child entering kindergarten. While they may say that a child should recognize his or her own name, that's likely the extent of reading they hope for.

[pinky]

Goodness gracious, that is CRAZY! My older dd was reading at 4.5ish, and she was waaaayyy ahead of her peers. At just over 5, my younger dd is on the cusp of reading, and she's definitely on the early end.

Really, I think saying kids should be reading at 5 is like saying they should be talking at 9 months. Maybe a few will be, but it's not at all the usual timeline.

[haleyelianasmom]

I think he was serious because he told her that B should be able to read books like "Hop on Pop" by now.

Personally, I think it's odd. My daughter started reading simple words right around her 4th birthday, but that's her personality. She's a bit on the "slow to warm up" side, she takes a lot in and quietly observes... She started talking relatively early, too, so I assume she's just strong in the language department. Again, that's who she is. Each kid has a different personality.

I just think for the doctor to be bringing it up at the FIVE YEAR check up is way too early. Maybe even at the 6 year or 7 year, but the 5 year? I agree they probably need to find a new doctor. Unless it is on some "development milestones" sheet that all pediatricians carry, but that would be even more baffling.

[Ornery]

I volunteer at my dd's kindergarten one day a week practicing reading and letter recognition with the students in her class. Out of a class of 24 5 and 6 year olds, I would say that only 3-4 can actually sit down and read a book without a lot of support. Half are in the early reading stages, and the rest are still working on learning letter recognition and sounds.

Of course, in our district, they are no longer teaching phonics based reading (confuses the you know what out of me) but that is a whole nother story.

[haleyelianasmom]

Eclipse95- no more phonics? So is it all sight reading? I think you need a bit of both. How could you ever sound out new words without knowing basic phonics? Or am I misunderstanding what they teach? My MIL said she just learned sight reading as a kid which confuses me. It's like schools go through teaching fads or something.

[eepster]

She may be over reacting to a simple question from the Dr. I have done this.

Every WBV the pediatrician would go over a long list of things, and most of the time I woul say yes to them. occassionally I would say "no" and she would go "uh-hu." Then start examining him.

I always worried and worried about those "uh-hu"s.

One time the question was does he alternate feet climbing stair, and he had just started doing it, so I said "yes." After the novelty of alternating feet wore off, DS went back to always leading with his right foot, b/c it was easier for him. I was terribly worried that him finding always leading with one foot meant there was something horribly wrong with his hips or knees.

At our next visit I brought it up with the pediatrician, very worried. She was very amused that I was so worried about it. She said "oh, typically children don't start alternating feet till they are 3 yo."

I now wonder, then why the heck do you ask me these things, but I no longer worry about them. I've come to realize, she just keeps going down her list till I say "no" to something.

[Alyantavid]

This is exactly why I stopped taking my kids to well visits. I always got some bizarre comment from the doc about what my kid should or shouldn't be doing.

From my experience with my son, some kids can and some can't. My oldest was reading by 5 but from his peers in kindergarten and first grade, it wasn't the norm. My younger son shows no interest in reading (or in knowing most of his letters either). So it varies a ton.

[lindberg99]

I took my son in for a 5 yo check up and the nurse was impressed that he knew the difference between a penny and a quarter. She sure didn't ask anything about reading. I'm not even sure she asked if DS knew his letters.

Tell your friend everyone here thinks the doctor is nuts and she shouldn't worry about it AT ALL. My son turned 5 in May and I doubt he could read Hop on Pop now. And he's one of the better readers in his kindergarten.

[One_Girl]

Reading is what they start teaching in kindergarten. If the kid was in second grade and not reading then she should worry, but not at this point. Perhaps the doctor sees a lot of kids who tend to be reading by five and assumes that they all should. My dd went to kindergarten in a school in a high income school district and many of the kids were already reading by kindergarten, but that doesn't mean all kids can read by that point. The state test for kindergarten kids only covers letter names and sounds.

[LynnS6]

Direct her to the PBS Child Development Tracker:
http://www.pbs.org/parents/childdevelopment/

It's very solid, backed by research and gives a good idea of the range of things.

Then tell her that most doctors are lucky to get an hour's worth of language development training overall.

[minkin03]

Originally Posted by haleyelianasmom

I think he was serious because he told her that B should be able to read books like "Hop on Pop" by now.

no offense, but where did he get his degree... out of a cracker jack box???

[KatWozBlue]

My son's kindergarten teacher at the beginning of the year gave us all a lecture during parent's night where she said some of the kids would be reading, some would not by the end of Kindergarten and that it was perfectly normal. She even said that developmentally in Kindergarten the range is equal to having 9 month olds in the class and 18 month olds, imagine how far apart those two ages are in childhood and that is how far apart they are in kindergarten when it comes to readiness for reading, math, etc. My son who is super bright reads sight words and out of a list 100 he knew 20 and she was very happy with his development.

[_betsy_]

He's not an expert at early childhood education - she's there for his medical training and expertise, not his opinions on parenting issues or education. I'd no sooner listen to a "She should be reading at 5" comment than I would a "She should be sleeping through the night at 5 months" comment.