Teaching Reading Young/Other Subjects

[4Kiddos]

It seems as if there is a controversy over whether or not you should teach your child to read when they are very young- like 3 or 4. I have noticed that those who believe you should wait cite research and also say that you might do damage if you teach your child to read before they are ready. I was wondering if this is the same for other subjects. Should you not teach your child math before a certain age? Or science? Or history? Is there any research on this like there is on reading? I would be interested to know what you all think.

 

I am not trying to start a controversy or be argumentative. I am just genuinely curious if any research has been done on other fields of study besides reading. Does anyone know and what are your opinions?

Edited March 15, 2012 by Mommyof3boys

[Mrs Twain]

I doubt that any quality research has been done on the subjects you mention. To create a good study, it would require certain factors including being large (involving a large number of children), prospective, and randomized. I don't think it would be possible to conduct a study of this sort, mainly because most parents wouldn't stand for their children to be put in the delayed reading (or delayed math, and so on) group.

 

I would therefore suspect that the assertions are mainly theories associated with a small amount of retrospective anecdotal evidence, or just theories without any evidence.

 

FWIW, many people on this board are teaching their children algebra in 4th or 5th grades. I have not heard anyone accusing them of damaging their children's brains by doing this. I don't know why there is such an uproar specifically over teaching children to read early, but for some reason it is quite controversial.

 

All of my kids learned the alphabet by 1.5 years old and began our reading program around 3-4 years old. Learning to read early opened up an entirely new world to them. Also being able to read before kindergarten gave them the ability to learn more in other subjects at an earlier age. I have only seen benefits with teaching children to read early. I am not saying that all children should do this, but I don't agree that a child will be damaged by early learning.

 

Just my two cents...

[misidawnrn]

My 8yo didn't learn her ABC's by sight until age 4 and didn't learn how to read until K. My just turned 3yo has known her ABC's by sight (minus 2-3 letters that she confuses like V and W) for a few months now. I haven't done any reading with her, just letter recognition. She eagerly soaks up any play learning that we do. She does know how to spell SARAH, MOM and DAD and knows that Olivia starts with O and a few other family member's names as well. If we work on it for 15 minutes a few times a day I think that is good. I do plan on teaching her the sounds of the letters starting in the fall but I don't plan on pushing it. If she acts uninterested, I will back off. I plan on teaching to her interest.

 

I haven't read any studies on for or against. I just plan on following her lead until at least age 6.

[ekfk]

There haven't been many studies done on early reading but the ones that have been done have found that early readers remain ahead of later readers. I'm not aware of any studies finding actual harm from early reading.

 

I did baby reading with both of my kids. My 1st grader had 5th grade reading skills in Kindergarten (she hasn't been tested in 1st grade yet). She also reads very rapidly. She reads 200 page chapter books in a couple of hours. Spelling and grammar have always been really easy for her, which I think comes from so much exposure to written language early on. My second is almost 4 and reads level 2 and 3 readers easily. So, I think early reading has been a huge benefit. My kids learned to read very easily. They never had to work hard at it the way older kids do. I haven't seen any downside at all.

[Rosie_0801]

Generally speaking, people who are trying to force their kids to learn something before they are ready are trying to force reading. That's probably why it is spoken about whereas others aren't. Mostly by the time people could be trying to force algebra on kids who aren't ready, they've had enough experience to determine when "ready" is and that nothing good will come from trying anyway.

 

I've never seen anyone object to teaching a preschooler to read if they are asking. I've never seen anyone accuse anyone of damaging their kiddo if they are spending five or ten minutes a day working on reading with a kid who doesn't mind going along with it. If a preschooler suddenly develops an over the top bout of wiggles, beyond the usual or runs away crying when faced with a reading lesson, even the better early than late people would say to wait a few months.

 

It is easier to break other subjects down to developmentally appropriate exposure. A child can't learn to read without looking at letters, but they don't need to look at numerals to learn to count or add. Reading stories about history and science aren't going to hurt a child any more than reading stories of anything else.

 

Rosie

[Hunter]

From my research, which may be based on faulty research, but all I have to talk about, is that you need to be careful in 2 areas.

 

#1 Permanent eye problems can develop from focusing on a close page for too long without breaks.

 

#2 Time spent on subjects usually covered in later years often means a shirking of opportunities to experience what their age mates are experiencing.

 

One of my children was 2E and radically accelerated. It had it's pros and cons. I'm not sure what I would do differently if I had the choice. Even in hindsight I'm still not sure what I think.

 

Good luck whatever you decide! :-)