How early is too early to teach a child to read?

Question

I have been wondering how early parents have taught their child to read. My son isn't gifted as far as I know, but he does know his numbers up to 20 and can recognize most of the letters of the alphabet. Is this something that could help in school (to know how to read so soon?) I would like to know what is normal I guess.

Answer 1

I am a grade school librarian and have noticed that while some kids in kdg. come to school able to read they really don't comprehend. Studies have also shown that early reading does not predict future intelligence. My advice would be not to push it and just continue to work on knowing letters and numbers. It sounds like you are doing a great job with that. Most kids now start learning to read in kdg. and can read fairly well in first grade. If you really want to start teaching your child now I would start with what they call popcorn words, ones that pop out at you because they are short and simple. Start looking for a, and an, then in and on, of and if, then move on to we and the, etc. Then start learning word families, like man, can, ran, and go from there.

Answer 2

I have a relative whos son was taught to read when he was 2 by the time he turne 3 he could read at a 1st grade level. He's like 7 now and way ahead of all his class mates. So Teach them early and they will learn early good luck!!

Answer 3

The earlier the better! My son is 2 1/2 and is the same way.. counts to 20, recognizes 1-9, knows most of his letters and can spell his name. If your son is interested, keep it up. Once he learns all the letters, start with small, simple words (like cat, dog, mom) along with a picture of the word you are spelling ( I chose to start with my son's name because it's something he can correlate to himself)
1 piece of advice: if he seems uninterested while your trying to teach him, stop and try again in a couple days. You don't want to kill his enthusiasm because then his progress can actually regress.
Good luck with everything!! Let us know how it works out!!

ps How old is your son?

Answer 4

The general answer from psychological studies shows the fastest way for a child to learn anything, is when he/she is asking about it. When they ask or somehow show interest in something, give them the knowledge they seek, or a way to find it. Pushing knowledge on a child, or holding it back, have proven to be inferior to having the knowledge ready for them when they are ready to put-it-in-place. This is of course in a ( test ) environment where teaching is a proactive goal. This means if your objective is to teach your child, always try to provide some answer for a question, you will find children can soak it up faster than you or any one person has time for.

Answer 5

My son almost 2 and 1/2 and he knows Numbers to twenty, All of his alphabet, all basic shapes, and colors. It is never too early to start teaching your child. As long as they want to learn then let them and help them. Don't make them. My nephew was reading basic words and writing his own name before he turned three.

Answer 6

It is never too early! He sounds like a bright child. i read to my daughter very early on and she was reading by the time she was 3. Not that i did anything special she just picked it up really quickly.

Answer 7

I dont think its ever too early. My Mom would read to me from the day I was born, and now I actually know how to speed read. I think reading is so important, and if you keep teaching, they are bound to pick it up at some point.

Good Luck!!

Answer 8

You don't even have to start with reading books. My son and I worked on signs, and packages. The grocery store was the most fun. Making a game out of learning the titles of stuff made him more eager to read books. If your little one is speaking, then start showing them words to read.

Answer 9

Why would it ever be too early to expose a child to reading? Just have realistic expectations.

Answer 10

well reading to your child does help but when your child begins to show interest then you should see if they can but dont push it they will get frustrated if they are not developmentally ready. i would say every child is different but i know some 5 year olds who are learning so it all depends