PARENT TO PARENT

Q: My son is four years old and loves books. I have taught him the letters and the basic sounds. He is beginning to read and loves it. Some friends are telling me not to push him, others are saying he needs more and should be reading before he gets to school next year. What would you suggest?

A: This is a very common dilemma for parents, and even teachers. The subject of contention is called Reading Readiness. Put simply, a child should be taught to read when that child's brain has matured enough. Some children learn as young as two, some are not ready until eight years old. My first son learned his letters and basic sounds before he was a year old. I didn't try to teach him, he just loved letters. My second son had no interest in print until he was much older and didn't start learning his basic reading skills until almost six years old. Both boys are magnificent readers, and have been reading at adult level since their mid-elementary years. It really does depend on the child.

You can tell if your child is ready with a few little checks. When reading to your child, use your finger to trace the words as you read them. Is your child following your finger or looking at the pictures? Does your child show focused interest in the letters and words as you read? If so, your child may be ready to learn to read. On the other hand, if your child looks at the pictures and has no interest in the printed words, I would suggest waiting.

Another important skill to check for is memory retention. All children, once they learn to speak, can repeat back to you what you have said. This is mimicry, not learning. To see if your child is capable of the memory retention necessary for basic reading skills, play a little game. Choose a letter of the alphabet (preferably a consonant, since vowels have many sounds). The first letter of your son's name would be great, since he can relate it to himself. Show him the letter, teach him the name of the letter, then teach him the basic sound that letter makes in a word. All the letters and their basic sounds, with reference words, can be found at the website, www.ValderLearns.com. Just click on Phonics, then go to the free Lesson 1. You can print it out and teach from it. Once your child has learned the letter by sight, its name and its sound, quit. Wait until the next day, and when you have a chance, ask your son if he remembers the letter he learned. If he can remember what it looks like and either its name or sound, he has the skills necessary for learning to read.

I would like to add a small warning. Many children learn to sing the alphabet song in preschool. Now, this is not a bad thing. It introduces them to the idea that there is an alphabet, and also to singing, sounds and letters. It teaches many important skills, but not necessarily reading skills. I know of many children who can sing the alphabet song but have no idea how to match the name of each letter with its symbol. I have seen others who could point to each letter of the alphabet, as long as they were printed in a row, and say the names. These same children, when shown a letter out of sequence, were completely lost. Also, as an experiment (nothing scientific, just satisfying my curiosity), I tested a young girl who was struggling with letters and words although she could recite the alphabet. I typed the capital letters on a piece of paper, then watched her point to each one and say the name. I then repeated the process, but replaced a couple letters with meaningless squiggles, like $, &, etc. She proceeded to point to each letter and state the name, right through from a to z, without ever noticing the incorrect symbols. I believe this demonstrates my point. Almost all children learn to sing the alphabet song, and point to the letters and say their names. The question is, are they making the connections they need, with the proper amount of focus, to translate these skills to reading? I do not know the answer to that question. I think each child is different and, although a few have had problems, I cannot stress enough that the traditional preschool skills most children learn teach wonderful lessons, are fun, and not harmful in any way. It is, however, important to keep focused on which skills a child is learning.

Finally, I don't believe in pushing children. I also don't believe in holding a child back just because they are young. If your son wants to learn to read, teach him. If he is not interested, let him mature a bit.

I hope this helps,
Michele

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