Poll:At what age did your youngest or only child learn to read?

[didadeewiththree]

First time poll here, so here goes...

 

I'm just wondering at what age could your child read most any simple children's book fairly fluently, such as Green Eggs and Ham.

 

We are working on reading with my freshly turned 6 year old, and just havn't turned the corner just yet. Im wondering when it will just click for him.

 

I know every child is different but I'd like to hear what the typical ages are that children learn to read at.

[SKL]

My youngest was a beginning reader at 3, but my oldest (of 2) began reading at 5. Both are girls in case that matters.

 

ETA: I read too quickly. I should have said my youngest was 4, because that's when she began reading "fairly fluently." Sorry.

[Elizabeth in MN]

Ah, we needed the ubiquitous "other". Annabelle started to know words about the age of three, but had no interest in reading until seven.

[MHowell]

Kianna started at 3 1/2, D (4 1/2) has about 50 sight words and strong phonics skills. He just doesn't have the desire yet to put it all together.

[Tiberia]

We thought dd would be an early reader, but she wouldn't read until she knew she could do it with ease. So, she resisted independent reading until she was completely confident in reading. She started reading just before turning 7, and has been a very good reader since then. It will click at some point.

[Lecka]

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/green-eggs-and-ham

 

If you look -- this book is rated as beginning 2nd grade in reading level. That takes into account how long it is, I think.

 

All the "good readers" are way ahead of what is considered on grade level. But kids on grade level are on track to read grade-level texts in 3rd-4th grade.

[DawnM]

Youngest was about 4-4.5. He picked it up very easily.

 

Oldest was 8-9 before he could even begin to read anything like The Magic Treehouse. He has some LDs.

 

It so varies.

[Splinter]

Older two were ~4, younger two were 5.

[oldskool]

My youngest dd has been the latest to read of our three. She turned 8 (2nd grade) last fall. I'm not exactly sure why she was later to read than the others, but I am grateful that she is homeschooled and never had endure the classification of a "slow reader". Now, she reads great. My other two read fluently around age 6/7 and in first grade. Admittedly, I was a bit worried but I chugged along with OPGTR and it worked.

[SKL]

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/green-eggs-and-ham

 

If you look -- this book is rated as beginning 2nd grade in reading level. That takes into account how long it is, I think.

 

That's good to know, LOL. Last week my 5yo was reading this in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday. She really struggled to read all the way to the end - it really is long for a beginner to read in one sitting. I wondered if it wasn't designed for a child to enjoy in parts.

[jennynd]

youngest starts just a bit under 3 and reads green eggs and ham just a bit under 4.

oldest reads green eggs and ham just few months over 3.

[didadeewiththree]

I guess I could have made this poll for all children and made it so that you could choose multiple answers...oh well!

 

Of course, Id love to hear how old all of your children were when they learned to read.

 

My daughter who is almost 8, and my oldest son both learned to read fluently in Kindergarten at age 5 almost 6.

Edited March 7, 2012 by neenee7

[Tohru]

My ds struggled and struggled with early readers. He hated those cheesy early readers so I stopped using them. I just read everything aloud to him and read good books to him.

 

Well, a few months before his 9th birthday he went from not reading to picking up the LOTR and read all 3 books to himself, with perfect comprehension, only asking about a few words.

 

Now I tell everyone I can - Do Not stress about early reading. Our forefathers did not have our "early readers" and they were more literate than we are today.

[SilverMoon]

My youngest fluent reader was 3 when she could read Green Eggs and Ham with ease. This kid amazes me on a regular basis.

 

My other three fluent readers were 5, 5.5 and 7. My current emerging reader is 4. She has the skills to sound out simple words, but no real desire to curl up with a book and read it by herself. She's not ready for Green Eggs and Ham.

[Carpe]

I think it has to do with personality. My youngest has just recently began reading at this level because his older brother just started reading aloud at this level (Older has speech issues) Little has a strong desire to do everything Older does. And he's stubborn and determined. Etc.

 

Older was more laid back at this age (though he is still intense. Little is just >!INTENSE!< and in more/different ways). And he (Older) may have been reading and we didn't know it because he did not speak well.

 

The typical range is pretty much everything that your poll covers though. I know kids that learned later (7 or 8) and caught up as soon as they took an interest in reading.

[ocelotmom]

I'm a bit baffled by the "youngest or only" part - it would seem to me that, if you're going for birth order effect, only would be closer to oldest than youngest.

 

I can't answer since my youngest is still a toddler :) I find it a bit hard to answer for my oldest - I suspect he could have technically read all the words it at around 6, but I don't think he had the stamina for the whole book until 7 or even 8. I think my 5 year old could probably read it now, though again, I'm not sure about stamina, and I think she'd have problems with some of the words that are more difficult from a phonetic standpoint ("would", for example).

 

I'm really curious when my youngest will end up starting. From what I've observed with others, younger siblings and girls usually start reading earlier, but her verbal development is slow like her big brother's (at 16 months, "mama" is about the extent of her verbal vocabulary).

[didadeewiththree]

I'm a bit baffled by the "youngest or only" part - it would seem to me that, if you're going for birth order effect, only would be closer to oldest than youngest.

 

I can't answer since my youngest is still a toddler :) I find it a bit hard to answer for my oldest - I suspect he could have technically read all the words it at around 6, but I don't think he had the stamina for the whole book until 7 or even 8. I think my 5 year old could probably read it now, though again, I'm not sure about stamina, and I think she'd have problems with some of the words that are more difficult from a phonetic standpoint ("would", for example).

 

I guess I meant youngest reader in your family..

 

First time poll here...I love polls, but maybe Im not cut out to create them yet, but maybe my next will be better.

 

When I made the poll, I didn't think I wanted multiple answers, so I thought I'd just ask about one child in a person's family, one that was maybe around the same birth order that my son is in (the last born of three) Im not sure if I can edit this, so maybe answer closest to the question and then feel free to talk abt the ages all your children learned to read:)

[Perry]

Other. My youngest is 14 and while he can read, he can't read fluently. And it's not from lack of instruction. We worked, and worked, and worked....

 

He will never read fluently, I guess.

[Perry]

Now I tell everyone I can - Do Not stress about early reading. Our forefathers did not have our "early readers" and they were more literate than we are today.

It doesn't always work that way. Many struggling readers need early intervention or they won't ever get there. And many never get there at all.

[Eileen Aroon]

Ah, we needed the ubiquitous "other". Annabelle started to know words about the age of three, but had no interest in reading until seven.

 

Wow this was totally my oldest girl. I kept wondering if I had messed up, but now she is not only good at it, but is almost done with the Boxcar Children after 2 days. Major victory!

[EKS]

My younger son began reading at age 2.5 and could read a book like Green Eggs and Ham fluently at age 3.

 

My older son didn't read anything fluently until he was 8. He has dyslexia.

[Tap]

My older kids could read basic books by 5yo.

 

DD5 is not reading yet. She knows her sounds, but hasn't been able to connect them yet. I think she is very close though. Yesterday, I got her to sound out 'box' with minimal effort. It is time to try again. I will answer 6yo, because that is a hopeful sign :0)

[Jenny in Florida]

I guess I could have made this poll for all children and made it so that you could choose multiple answers...oh well!

 

Of course, Id love to hear how old all of your children were when they learned to read.

 

My daughter who is almost 8, and my oldest son both learned to read fluently in Kindergarten at age 5 almost 6.

 

I'm a little confused by the wording. At first, I thought you were asking how old my youngest child was when he learned to read. But then I re-read it and wondered if you meant to ask what was the youngest age either of my children learned to read fluently?

 

Maybe I'm over-thinking it?

[Kate CA]

First time poll here, so here goes...

 

I'm just wondering at what age could your child read most any simple children's book fairly fluently, such as Green Eggs and Ham.

 

We are working on reading with my freshly turned 6 year old, and just havn't turned the corner just yet. Im wondering when it will just click for him.

 

I know every child is different but I'd like to hear what the typical ages are that children learn to read at.

 

We had a bear of a time with my youngest two. It took a variety of curriculum choices as well as just patience and small increments of time.

 

Keep on keeping on, Mom. There is no easy solution and there is no learning disability with mine--it was just hard work.

 

:001_smile:

[TXMomof4]

My youngest (ds) learned to read while I was really struggling with my youngest dd. It was painful. We'd fight through 'The cat sat' and he'd pick it up just by listening. DD REALLY struggled - but she hit her groove this year and is reading well above grade level - just since Christmas. Ds is 5 now and easily reading on a 4th grade level. It's just easy for him.

 

I don't think there is a normal. Good luck!

[angela in ohio]

I guess I meant youngest reader in your family..

 

Oops, mine is wrong then. I answered for my littlest guy, not my youngest reader.

[kathymuggle]

My older two learned to read with ease around 6.

 

My youngest learned to read around 7.5. I was starting to worry. She did catch up quickly when the lightbulb clicked for her.

 

This may be controversial, but after much observation, I decided she had the skills down, she simply lacked the practice necessary for fluency.

 

Careful selection of books, coupled with paying her to read $1 per book, did the trick. She read 8 books of about 100 pages each in 1 month (nothing like money!) After that she was hooked - I have not had to bribe her since. I do think I might sign her up for an MS read-a thon as, so we can do something similar but in a more philanthropic way.

[didadeewiththree]

I'm a little confused by the wording. At first, I thought you were asking how old my youngest child was when he learned to read. But then I re-read it and wondered if you meant to ask what was the youngest age either of my children learned to read fluently?

 

Maybe I'm over-thinking it?

 

Yes, your youngest child that can read, how old was he when he read pretty fluently?

[didadeewiththree]

Oops, mine is wrong then. I answered for my littlest guy, not my youngest reader.

 

Sorry that I worded this so confusing...

 

I meant your youngest child, that can read....

[Upward Journey]

We thought dd would be an early reader, but she wouldn't read until she knew she could do it with ease. So, she resisted independent reading until she was completely confident in reading. She started reading just before turning 7, and has been a very good reader since then. It will click at some point.

 

This is my youngest as well. He'll be 8 this summer, and is only now realizing that yes he can read "real" books. He's been able to sound out words since the age of 4, so I'm not sure what the issue has been :001_huh:

 

editing to add that mine have been all over the map when it comes to reading fluently.

 

oldest age 6

#2 age 4

#3 age 10!

#4 age 7

#5 almost 8 and not quite there yet

Edited March 7, 2012 by Upward Journey

[StartingOver]

Mine were all different, they learned to read fluently from age 3 to 10. I was not worried about he progress of any of them, even the late readers made slow progress !

[MrsBear]

Ah, we needed the ubiquitous "other". Annabelle started to know words about the age of three, but had no interest in reading until seven.

 

Exactly my DS! He knew his sounds and blends down cold by 4 but just didn't really have any interest in reading. No matter what I did, he just didn't want to read. This year, at 7, now he's interested and made huge, huge leaps in fluency, speed and comprehension.

[ElizabethB]

Some children need a lot more repetition than others.

 

My son is still working on it, his sister was fluent by this point. However, he is about a grade level ahead of where she was in math at his age. Math is my daughter's high repetition subject.

 

Just keep working on the phonics until it clicks!

 

Here is a fun game to get in some extra repetition fairly painlessly:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

[SKL]

I suspect there are many kids who actually know how to read (some) but don't read aloud. Like some kids don't want to talk or walk until they can do it "right," that seems to be true of reading.

[mjselmk]

My oldest was 6 1/2 when reading finally clicked for her, and she became fluent fairly quickly after that. My second child was fluently reading books like Harry Potter at age 4, primarily self taught, and my newest reader is 4 1/2 and is reading Bob Books and similar. I really think that unless a child has a learning disability or just a real aversion to reading that it all evens out in the end.

[Mommy22alyns]

Well, mine were not typical but both were reading by 4.

[higginszoo]

Mine have ranged from not quite 3 to almost 7 before reading really clicked.

[AuntieM]

My youngest finished the 100EL book at age 3. Not what we expected! She just thought she should be doing school, too, and surprised us all by pointing to words around the house and just reading them. DH said, get out the reading lesson book....

 

My other kids were reading fluently (say 2nd grade level) by ages 4, 7 and 7. They also took different amounts of time escalating to more complex works; for some it came more quickly than for others. Every kid surely is different.

[Calm37]

My 3 yo youngest sat in on the 100EZ lessons of her then 5yo sister. The little stinker learned to read, too! All the olders had learned at 5, so I thought I had one more chance to teach reading. :)

 

Blessings,

[momtoamiracle]

I have one child, he's getting fluent at age 5 and a couple of months. He could sound out words before age 3 tho, just really wasnt interested in reading more than a word or two at a time. I didn't push it.

[OrganicAnn]

There is a wide variety of ages, but if your "mommy sense" is telling you that something is wrong, then listen to it. One thing that you may want to have checked out is his eyes - and there are two parts of this. 1) the traditional eye exam and 2) the vision therapy people for issue like convergence. Either one of these could cause problems with reading.

[melissel]

My oldest taught herself at a few months past 4, but my youngest JUST turned the corner. At just-turned-six, I was still stressing over it because she was just. not. getting. it. Then, literally the week I made the vision therapy appointment, there was an almost audible click, and bam--she was reading.

 

I totally get your stress, and yes, if your mom sensors are going off, consider addressing it. But I'll also say that I felt like my mom sensors were going wild over this issue, and there was nothing really going on :tongue_smilie: I just needed to be a bit more patient!

[RoundAbout]

My son just turned 5 and could handle Green Eggs and Ham with only a little help on some of the words he haven't covered in OPGTR yet. He's never struggled with reading stuff - he knew all of his letter sounds at 18 months and was great at blending and rhyming but he doesn't like to attempt anything he won't immediately be good at.

 

Another problem we have is that he has always had an amazing attention span for read-alouds, like hours every day, and we've read fairly complex and long stories from an early age. When I tried to get him to read Bob books at 3.5 or so, he simply threw them back at me "These are dumb!" I can't say I disagree.

[Jenny in Florida]

Yes, your youngest child that can read, how old was he when he read pretty fluently?

 

Okey dokey. In that case, my youngest reader was my daughter. She was reading fairly fluently at age five. When it got to the point at which she would read all of the picture books we checked out from the library before we got home, I nudged her towards chapter books. She read the first Harry Potter book on her own before her sixth birthday.

 

On the other hand, my son wasn't reading fluently until he was seven. Interestingly, of the two, he has turned out to be the most voracious reader.

 

Kids are just determined to do these things at their own pace, I guess.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Well, I don't know what my youngest will do. Here is what has happened so far.

 

Oldest: read very well at 3.

Second: could do some by 7/8; but was 10/11 when it really clicked. He was also one that waited to walk til he could run, jump, and turn also.

Third: was almost 6 before she could read just about anything.

Fourth: is just starting ("Bob and the dog sat on the mat.")

Fifth: Can spell his name verbally, knows many letters and sounds.

[JessReplanted]

I didn't vote. My youngest is learning now, at 4, but she is not fluent yet.

 

My middle daughter also learned at 4, and now, at 5 1/2 she is at a 2nd grade reading level (judging by all of the readers she has blown through).

 

My oldest (boy) started to learn at 5, and it took A.L.L. year for him to even get it. He was probably 6 1/2 before he was fluent. But now, at 9, he's a great reader!

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Mine is 7yr5mo and just read Chicken Butt (closer to memorized, but he did it alone). He's no where near books like Magic Tree House. He can read most of the Bob books and HOP readers, but still sounds a lot of things out.

[TechWife]

That's good to know, LOL. Last week my 5yo was reading this in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday. She really struggled to read all the way to the end - it really is long for a beginner to read in one sitting. I wondered if it wasn't designed for a child to enjoy in parts.

 

 

Dr. Seuss books were for sight-reading (I think that's what it is called), not for phonics. If your daughter learned to read w/a phonics method, that may be why she struggled - there may be too many words that "break the rules," so to speak.

 

I really wouldn't put Dr. Seuss on a list that new readers should be able to read, I think they are more for reading aloud an enjoying the rhythm of the words.

[didadeewiththree]

There is a wide variety of ages, but if your "mommy sense" is telling you that something is wrong, then listen to it. One thing that you may want to have checked out is his eyes - and there are two parts of this. 1) the traditional eye exam and 2) the vision therapy people for issue like convergence. Either one of these could cause problems with reading.

 

My son had an eye appt earlier this week, and besides being a bit on the plus side, he checked out ok.

 

Part of his problem is the fact that he doesnt want to put any effort into reading. He says he doesnt want to read even though weve drilled the first 45 phonograms all. year. long. He knows 100+ words on flashcards, words we have sounded out and I've given a phonics lesson on, but he might forget them after a week or so.

 

I tried a new sound out just to break us away from the usual grind. It was /ey/. I told him sometimes it says "long a" and other times it says "long e" I told him to say the sound while he writes it, and of course, he writes "ae" Maybe the program we are using is confusing, I dont know.

 

I can tell it wont be forever but I wonder when it will all click:)

[Tarreymere]

My youngest was three (that was just weird since she did it on her own, she is 25 now and no other signs of genius), most of the kids were around five or six, and my oldest was nearly nine (that child is the biggest bookworm in the family now at age 26). I never did get any official diagnosis for my later reader although she was evaluated. Just like the others have said, one day it just clicked. So we abandoned the evaluation process.......I do wonder how much of it was because she just wasn't interested in making an effort until it seemed worthwhile to her.