Of course in all areas there are early babies who do things before the expected or usual age and today we are going to talk about young children who learn to read "earlier than normal". Normally children who read early do so on their own initiative, ask, they are interested, they are passionate about letters and they will amaze us with their speed. We must always respect the rhythm and curiosity of the child, whether it is earlier or if it takes longer than expected, also paying attention to having special educational needs to attend.
A child who walks at six months is unusual. The fact that a baby smokes is not precocity, but madness.
And although it is clear that promising us that with a method it is possible that they read at nine months seems like a scam, if it is true that there are children who are interested in reading and become readers very early.
But when should one learn to read?
What is usually recommended is to wait until the age of five, or perhaps until the age of six, to teach read.
However, there are children who ask to learn before reading and they do it with ease. Anyway, remember that learning to read later does not mean that you are a bad reader or that you are going to hate reading and that, of course, you do not have to force yourself to learn before the child is prepared and enjoys it.
Anyway, bit methods promise something like that. I have not used them, I am more than teaching to read by the traditional syllabic method and do it when the child asks for it (which can be at three or seven years, it doesn't matter).
The school system, which unifies, begins with the letters and reading in children in many cases, 'but legally, there is no reason to demand that it begin before the first grade and be reached in the second.
It is good to take it into account, and ideally the centers would be able to adapt to the personalized needs of each child.
Some children will read at age four, others will not do so until age seven and there really will not be differences in the long run in their love for books or their reading competence, as long as we do the most important thing: respect their rhythms and their desires.
Early readers: children who learn to read "earlier than normal"
And it is up to each child the moment in which he learns to read and we must also respect and help those who are early readers. There are really surprising cases of early readers and, when they happen, it is a feature that alerts us to possible giftedness as well.
My son, before going to school, with two and a half years, recognized the letters and knew how to read syllables or spell simple words. When I was three years old I could read children's stories with ease and find out what I was reading, when I started school with less than six I read children's books like those of Enid Bayton and at seven I remember that I read the Iliad. My cousin Thomas at five read not stories, but the newspaper and had learned almost without anyone's help.
But it doesn't depend on the methods, but on the precocity in some specific area of ​​development, so the last thing I would advise doing is using methods that promise that the child will learn to read early.
I remember reading in Asimov's autobiography that he learned to read only before going to school, which is especially relevant if we know that his parents didn't know just English (they were Russian Jewish immigrants).
And he did it on his own initiative, asking other boys what sound the letters on the street signs had. Asimov was gifted and also had an intense curiosity.
The Early readers are not a myth, they are a reality, but they are not built with generalized stimulation methods, they are children that will need us to help them when they show interest and ease in reading, and above all, that we respect their precocity and be attentive to the special educational needs they will have, if they Confirm the giftedness.
Babies and more | Ten tips to help children learn to read (if they want to learn) (I), (II)
