What was the average age that your dc learned to read?

[rose]

By learned to read, I'm thinking of being able to read books like "Biscuit Wants to Play" without much help at all.

[Kiara.I]

I'm not familiar with that book, but both my olders learned to read at around 5 1/4, and within the next half year moved to reading pretty much anything they picked up.

 

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[abacus2]

You really want the average of my kids? Because they varied greatly. Their average doesn't represent any of them. I'll wait for an answer before answering the poll.

 

ETA: one late 4, one late 7, one after 8. average 6.7 years

Edited June 16, 2017 by abacus2

[courtney.byrum]

DS taught himself at 2 or 3 with no involvement from me. DD was crying and asking to learn to read at 4 so I taught her how and by about 4.5 she read the entire Ramona Quimby series herself. It would have been easier for all if DS hadn't learned on his own.

[maize]

One at 5, 2 at 7, 1 at 9. Guess the average is 7.

 

One child is dyslexic, so learning has been a long process.

[mytwomonkeys]

It's been a while, but I'd say by age 6 or 7 they could read the Biscuit books easily (or first grade-ish?). It may have been earlier, but that's what I remember.

[ElizabethB]

One could at 4, the other 8. They were quite different. I have a lot of experience teaching phonics, too and used the same methods for both of them, lthough I had to use a lot more programs with my son for my sanity--I use different programs when reviewing phonics basics with my remedial students, too, so I can pretend I am not teaching the same thing over and over. I never tire of Webster and Blend Phonics , though, I alternate them and other good programs.

[SKL]

I put late 4.  One was a young 4, the other a young 5.

[goldenecho]

My oldest learned to read at 4...I think late 4 but could have been early 4.   My second learned at 5...after not showing much interest though we knew he could sound out small words it just clicked for him and he read ALL the phonics readers we had in one afternoon, on his own (the first couple out loud to me and the rest quietly to himself cause he's an introverted learner and didn't want my help anymore). 

 

Then my youngest...wasn't even interested in being read to until 3 (my olders I read to since they were babies), resisted trying to learn the alphabet, wasn't anywhere ready for Kindergarten, cried his way through until I decided ENOUGH and brought him home to homeschool.  He is 9 now and just getting where he can read those type of readers well.

 

 

 

[drjuliadc]

22 months old and 2 1/2, but I didn't get my oldest child (adopted) until he was 22 months old, so we didn't start teaching him to read until then. I started at birth with my 2nd child by stimulating visual discrimination, then starting with actual print (very, very large) at 4 months old.

 

I spent 5 minutes twice a day on it and I was very consistent with it. I never did it if they weren't interested in it. They were both very interested.

 

My twins are 21 months old and they aren't anywhere close to where my second child was at that age but they don't talk much yet, so it is hard to tell. They are also both very interested in learning the way I teach it.

[hellen]

Two were late 5. My last one is almost 7 and still not there.

[madteaparty]

Maybe now at 6 if she's in the mood. Not sure, she prefers me reading to her.

DS was "late" too but I don't remember. His reading score is the highest in standardized tests (and in "gifted" category now, whatever that means).

[fralala]

I said the average was young 5, but I don't really remember. I am guessing it was latest for my oldest, since I deliberately discouraged her from learning to read, but she is such a voracious reader now that all the relatives who criticized me then will now say things like, "Oh, she started reading when she was 3, right? I remember it was really early." Ha!

 

ETA: I do have a 4 year old and 2 year old who are not yet reading (and whom I didn't think to take into account until I looked at some of the above responses!).

Edited June 16, 2017 by fralala

[meganrussell]

I'd say 6-7 years.

[GeoKitty]

One was late 4/ early 5, the other was 3/ turning 4.

[knitgrl]

So far, the first was a little over six, the second child was about 5 and a quarter.

[bluemongoose]

Mine were 2, late 7, late 4, early 5.

[SilverMoon]

I voted six times, because they were all different.

 

1) late 4, basically self-taught

2) 8, late bloomer across the board

3) late 5, he wasn't all that interested until then

4) 3, fluently, she learned over #3's shoulder

5) early 5, pushing late 4

6) late 6, but now at 6.75 he's at a solid 2nd grade+ level, poof, I'll read now kthxbai

[Momto4inSoCal]

A friend of mine just went to her daughters kindergarten assesment and was told most kids are already reading by the time they go into kinder. I was kind of surprised to hear that. I'm thinking maybe they meant Cvc words not biscuit books though.

[Bluegoat]

My girls, both at 5.  My son, 7, isn't there yet.

[vonfirmath]

You really want the average of my kids? Because they varied greatly. Their average doesn't represent any of them. I'll wait for an answer before answering the poll.

 

ETA: one late 4, one late 7, one after 8. average 6.7 years

 

Agreed. I can put an average, but it wouldn't reflect any of my actual kids.

 

One was late 3. The other was mid-age 5.

[luuknam]

Mine were young (iirc early 4 and 3 - with the early 4 we used reading to work on speech, as he had a massive speech delay but was enamored with letters and numbers, and the Biscuit books were his favorite and the books he learned to read/talk with), but I personally wasn't able to until early 6yo, at which point they taught phonics in school, and I went from not reading at all to reading well above grade level before x-mas break. 

[nixpix5]

My first two were late 4 yo. This ended up being terrible because they did PS kindergarten and both had to be pulled out a lot and hated it. While everyone was reading cvc words they were reading chapter books. It was tough so PS didn't last long.

 

My 3 still at home were all roughly early 5. That seems to be the sweet spot for our family.

[Farrar]

That's a really easy book - easy enough that even without teaching sight words, a lot of kids will have memorized enough to read it. It wouldn't quite meet my definition of being able to read.

[Ausmumof3]

I can't fully remember but I'd say older 5 earlier 6 for that level of book (I had to google) and only saw a couple of pages of them.

 

I didn't really count them as able to read till they started wanting to read chapter books themselves. Which is around age 8 for each of them.

[CrunchyGirl]

So far 3 and 5. I will be very surprised if TheMonkey isn't at this point by the end of this school year (5).

[luuknam]

That's a really easy book - easy enough that even without teaching sight words, a lot of kids will have memorized enough to read it. It wouldn't quite meet my definition of being able to read.

 

 

I figured she meant books like it. Like, if you gave them the newest book in the series that they haven't read yet, that they'd be able to read it.

[ReadingMama1214]

I didn't notice that you said Biscuit. So I'd say early 4. Dd started reading CVC words around 3.75. DS isn't there yet and he's 3.5 next month. But he also seems to make bigger leaps and hide skills. I suspect he'll read before Kindy. At 5.5 DD is now reading early chapter books like Magic Tree House, Sophie the Mouse, and Zoey & Sassafrass.

[StartingOver]

Mine read at 5, 10, 4, and 4.

[ReadingMama1214]

A friend of mine just went to her daughters kindergarten assesment and was told most kids are already reading by the time they go into kinder. I was kind of surprised to hear that. I'm thinking maybe they meant Cvc words not biscuit books though.

Your friend was given false info. I recently saw some stats and it said that something like 10% of kids enter K knowing how to read simple words. I suspect that's pretty typical unless you're in an area such as NYC or D.C. where early academics are pushed to the extreme.

[lllll]

nm

Edited July 25, 2017 by tentwelve

[historically accurate]

I went with an average of young 5, but none of them were really young 5.

 

Oldest read the book "Little New Kangaroo" at 3 1/2 - she was reading Magic Treehouse by her 4th birthday. She kind of missed the early, early reading stages. Or it's possible I missed it thinking she just had the books memorized. I remember the actual book because we got it from the library, and I went to read it and she read it to me. It was the first time I realized she could read since she had never seen the book before.

 

Middle was reading Biscuit/Dick and Jane type books at around 5 1/2 years old. She was reading well - Henry and Mudge level by the time we started Kindergarten at 6 years 1 month.

 

Youngest refused to learn to read; she didn't read until she was closer to age 7. Her first book was 10 Apples Up on Top at age 6 years 10 months; I was so excited I vividly remember it. Before that she had about 5 Bob level books that she would "read".

[HS Mom in NC]

Oldest 4
Middle 8

Youngest 6

No learning or attention issues with any of my kids.

[LMD]

Oldest was late 4. Next was 5. 3rd was/is late 6. That reflects both maturity levels and my ability to spend a lot of hyper focused time with subsequent children...

[snowbeltmom]

One was 2, one was 4, and the other was 6.

[HeatherL]

I am so grateful for this thread.  

 

My older son taught himself to read around 3 years old and was reading magic tree house by 5.  But my younger... I always feel he is behind.  He turns 6 in a few weeks and will begin 1st grade this fall and is not reading.  He can sound out CVC words and short vowel blends and knows some sight words, but is just not so interested in reading.  We completed Explode the Code 1 and 2 last year and he did pretty well, but sounding out still takes some time and he guesses a lot (not even close to what the word actually is) I always feel he's the only one his age not reading fluently right now, but now I guess not.

[Arcadia]

A friend of mine just went to her daughters kindergarten assesment and was told most kids are already reading by the time they go into kinder. I was kind of surprised to hear that. I'm thinking maybe they meant Cvc words not biscuit books though.

Challenger schools here teach reading with phonics to the preschool class. The preK class is supposed to be reading already. Link is what they use for the preschool class (3 year olds) http://www.learningcrew.org/product/phonics-fun-box/

 

About half of my older boy's kindergarten classmates were writing short sentences on the first day of kindergarten without help. Descriptive sentences like My favorite food/color/toy is .... My pet(s) is/are .... during the first day orientation while the teacher brief the parents in the classroom. My older kid doesn't like to write so he mostly drew on that paper.

 

Almost everyone in his kindergarten class went to an academic style preschool.

[mytwomonkeys]

A friend of mine just went to her daughters kindergarten assesment and was told most kids are already reading by the time they go into kinder. I was kind of surprised to hear that. I'm thinking maybe they meant Cvc words not biscuit books though.

I think the trend increasingly leans toward academics starting earlier & earlier. Where I live many people intentionally hold off on kindergarten & let their child start a year late. I believe it has a lot to do with not feeling like their child is quite ready for a full day of school and homework. I feel bad for the child that isn't ready to read at 5 (let alone 6) and is labeled "behind".

 

I'm 46 & didn't learn to read until first grade (we started with CVC words). In kindergarten I learned the alphabet (with the alphabet people😊) & we had play centers. It was more about sharing, listening, attention span, learning to be away from my mom, etc. ...very similar to young preschool now.

[zaichiki]

Two were reading Biscuit-type books at 3 and two, at 6. One of those has dyslexia. By a certain age, all were reading pretty much whatever they wanted, even the one with dyslexia. I don't think it matters very much how early they learn to read, just so they learn that books are wonderful. I've got four bookworms. :)

 

[SkateLeft]

#1 was reading very well by 4.

 

#2 and #4 both started kindergarten with me as non-readers at 5 and took off by the end of the year.

 

#3 didn't read until he was 10. He's now my most avid reader. He always has his kindle in his pocket and spends all of his extra money on books.

[Hunter]

Averages mean nothing in my family.

 

I taught myself to read at 4.

 

My oldest didn't read until 8.

 

At 6, my youngest was appearing to silently read adult novels to himself, but was not consistently talking in full sentences to us yet, and certainly never read a single word aloud, soooo I have no idea what he was or was not doing with his silent reading. I distinctly remember him staring for hours at a time at the second book in the Jurassic Park series until he got sick of his older brother's mocking and demands that he read it aloud. I have no clue whatsoever when he learned to read. I have no clue about a lot of things about him. :lol:

[Zinnia]

One at barely 6.

 

One can't read at almost 9, another at newly 7 (both dyslexic)

 

And one is sounding out CVC words at 4.5, so I am guessing youngish 5.

[keirin]

I find this thread slightly depressing :/ I know that comparing my kids to others is a road I do not want to walk down, and I usually succeed at that. But for some reason this thread has me second guessing everything I have done with my twins.

 

My twins will be 6 in a week. A year ago, right before and around turning 5 they were zooming through BOB books set 1. But not "level 1 readers." I would say right now they can handle those, in a sense... they are reading elephant and piggie, but some level 1 readers are still beyond them since they contain so many words that are not easy to sound out phonetically.

[shinyhappypeople]

I find this thread slightly depressing :/ I know that comparing my kids to others is a road I do not want to walk down, and I usually succeed at that. But for some reason this thread has me second guessing everything I have done with my twins.

 

My twins will be 6 in a week. A year ago, right before and around turning 5 they were zooming through BOB books set 1. But not "level 1 readers." I would say right now they can handle those, in a sense... they are reading elephant and piggie, but some level 1 readers are still beyond them since they contain so many words that are not easy to sound out phonetically.

 

Don't sweat it.  They're making progress.  That's what counts.  

 

Here's a study that addresses this question:   Children learning to read later catch up to children reading earlier

Highlights

â–º Around age 10, children learning to read at seven had caught up to those learning at 5. â–º Later starters had no long-term disadvantages in decoding and reading fluency. â–º For whatever reason, the later starters had slightly better reading comprehension. â–º Reading appears to be built on oral language, decoding, and reading skills. â–º This research suggests some focus on teaching reading early could be relaxed.

Edited June 20, 2017 by shinyhappypeople

[fralala]

I find this thread slightly depressing :/ I know that comparing my kids to others is a road I do not want to walk down, and I usually succeed at that. But for some reason this thread has me second guessing everything I have done with my twins.

 

My twins will be 6 in a week. A year ago, right before and around turning 5 they were zooming through BOB books set 1. But not "level 1 readers." I would say right now they can handle those, in a sense... they are reading elephant and piggie, but some level 1 readers are still beyond them since they contain so many words that are not easy to sound out phonetically.

 

I think the problem here is probably "level 1 readers", which had some of us second-guessing the value of using a "Biscuit" book as an example, and I invite you to join us rather than to feel any self-doubt. You and your kids are doing just fine!

[Meriwether]

Mine were 4, 5, 5, and probably 6 or almost 6. I don't remember. Dd7 was pretty good at disappearing when I had time to work with her. She is still lagging behind the others in reading. She can read chapter books now, but still slowly. All she needs is practice, but I still have trouble nailing her down when I have the time to work with her on it.

[KrisSmith]

around 5

[gstharr]

Late 4, following a year of phonics classes. By the first day of kindergarten, he could read anything (not implying  understanding).

[Hunter]

Don't sweat it. They're making progress. That's what counts.

 

Here's a study that addresses this question: Children learning to read later catch up to children reading earlier

Highlights

â–º Around age 10, children learning to read at seven had caught up to those learning at 5. â–º Later starters had no long-term disadvantages in decoding and reading fluency. â–º For whatever reason, the later starters had slightly better reading comprehension. â–º Reading appears to be built on oral language, decoding, and reading skills. â–º This research suggests some focus on teaching reading early could be relaxed.

My child that didn't read until 8 was ahead of most 10 year olds two years later. Late reading has nothing to do with later education UNLESS the child is stigmatized and isolated and believes this is anything other than entirely normal.

[Hunter]

Although I read at 4 with no help, and my older son read at 8 with lots of help, as an adult, he is definitely functioning at a higher and faster level than I have ever functioned as an adult.

 

I talk about him being a late reader and a late bloomer so much because of moms who worry.

 

Especially in boys, artists, mathematicians, and other gifted areas, late reading is very very common.