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My son learned to read by himself at age 3. He used a phonics software program that was a computer game (Peanuts). He did this when we were at work and he was home with the housekeeper.
His mom was reading him to sleep one night and he just took over the reading, much to her astonishment. (No, it was not memory.)
He is an adult now and is about to enter graduate school for mathematics. While he writes well, he does most of his reading on the Internet and has never had much of an interest in literature, despite having two writer/editors as parents. He was an average student until the last several years of college and hated grade school/high school. His aptitude scores were always sky high.
Don't think the early reading had much of an effect overall.
BTW, his mother was reading the John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles at 11
Me too. (well 12 anyway) I liked the graphic sexual descriptions and the fighting.The historical aspect to it was pretty good too. Seemed like he did his homework. I got so absorbed in those books I sometimes read one a day. Then I discovered the "Executioner" series. Less appealing because it did not have the historical realism aspect, but the violence was even better. Not sure why, but 12 year olds eat up that sex and violence stuff.
Having read very early myself, I do think that young children who can read depend on that skill to the detriment of others. For example, I have a very hard time learning from listening. I'm a very visual learner. However, I do think that if I hadn't known how to read so early, I'd have been forced to depend more on listening as a young child. I didn't listen when my mother read to me; I read the book over her shoulder, much to her annoyance. I also read ahead in books at school rather than listening to the teacher. All well and good for school, but there are times when I struggle now when I need to listen to something and learn or remember it. I also watch television with the closed captioning on because often I can't keep up with what's going on if I'm only listening. I spend some of the time trying to process what I've heard. If I can just read along though, that's much easier.
Thinking about this more, maybe that's why I read so early. If I had trouble listening as a 3-4 year old, then maybe I naturally did what came more easily. I don't remember anyone teaching me to read. I just did it. I only went to preK for a couple of weeks because I just laid on the floor and cried every day at age 4. I could read, but I couldn't participate with the other kids at all. I did manage to get it together for kindergarten, at least!
Kindergarten is really not about reading. It's about social skills and learning to take turns, controlling one's emotions in class, hand/eye coordination, expressing oneself artistically, and learning to take directions from the teacher. In kindergarten, recess and lunch are as important as learning reading and numbers.
One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is that if you get your child into kindergarten early, they will graduate early as well. Then you're looking at your 17-year-old heading off to college. Our daughter is a September baby who could read when she started kindergarten, but I was never tempted to have her skip a grade because I didn't want to lose a year of having her at home. She was fine being one of the oldest kids in the class and I'm glad she had an extra year to mature before starting college.
One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is that if you get your child into kindergarten early, they will graduate early as well. Then you're looking at your 17-year-old heading off to college. Our daughter is a September baby who could read when she started kindergarten, but I was never tempted to have her skip a grade because I didn't want to lose a year of having her at home. She was fine being one of the oldest kids in the class and I'm glad she had an extra year to mature before starting college.
We had a friend who pushed their kid through high school by age 14. College was completed in 2 years, then they were in grad school at age 16.
Poor kid never had a chance to live. Never had friends his age or maturity level. Horrid parents IMO. they are nice people, but terrible parents.
A kid who can get through high school by age 14 and is in grad school by age 16 is not going to be socially on par with the other kid in his/her grade regardless. The options for a gifted student like that would be to make them stagnate in classes that were far too simple or promote them as their ability would allow and have them in classes with students much older than they are. I don't think a parent who thinks about the options and makes the decision that seems best is a bad parent. Highly intelligent kids typically have a hard time relating to their age mates. That's just how it is and it's not the fault of the parents.
It makes zero sense to start a three year old in kindergarten.
I learned to read at three, self taught by no program, learned to speed read in third grade and can read and comprehend a three hundred page book in less than two hours. I also have an eidetic memory.
I flunked out of high school and three and a half years later graduated from a four year university with a bachelors degree.
We had a friend who pushed their kid through high school by age 14. College was completed in 2 years, then they were in grad school at age 16.
Poor kid never had a chance to live. Never had friends his age or maturity level. Horrid parents IMO. they are nice people, but terrible parents.
One clear piece of evidence of the craptastic advice given on this forum on this topic. You have no idea what it's like to navigate issues that come with parenting a profoundly gifted child. Yet you're certain they did it wrong and are horrid parents. Your opinion is worthless. IMO.
A kid who can get through high school by age 14 and is in grad school by age 16 is not going to be socially on par with the other kid in his/her grade regardless. The options for a gifted student like that would be to make them stagnate in classes that were far too simple or promote them as their ability would allow and have them in classes with students much older than they are. I don't think a parent who thinks about the options and makes the decision that seems best is a bad parent. Highly intelligent kids typically have a hard time relating to their age mates. That's just how it is and it's not the fault of the parents.
Absolutely spot on. Sometimes parents are put in situations like these that they have to make the best of. It is hard to fully comprehend what it's like to be in that position.
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