When was/is your 1st child can begin to read English?

[kiasu-but-generous]

i.e. read a full sentence or few sentences in English, not just to read one or two words only.


1. Around Pre-Nursery or below
2. Around Nursery
3. Around K1
4. Around K2
5. Around P1
6. Around P2 or above

[laughingcat]

DS1 - around pre-nursery

DS2 - PG

[kiasu-but-generous]

Seriously? The pool result so far, 1st kid able to read full sentence in pre-nursery? How is your approach to teach them? Please advice. Thanks in advance.

[puff]

Read to DD everynite

[laughingcat]

Everynight without fail read for both DS for 30mins.

DS1 was taught phonics and thereafter was easy.
We used flashcards for DS2 and his photographic memory was superb as compared to his gor gor and now his reading level is the same as gor gor.

Actually when a child can read is not too important. As long as the child knows how to read before P1 can already. What is most important is the love for reading.

[meiah]

1st child, I can’t remember. Too long liao. 3rd child can read simple sentences at PN.

[daddy2007]

My DD managed to learn all the single phonics sound when she is 18 months. My spouse taught there. By 2 yrs old, she learnt all the blends. Thereafter picking up of words are very fast. Now she is 4 years old but she is reading K2 books.


I think girl pick up language much faster than boy. Partly also she managed to master the phonics sounds when she is young. I think she feels more confident that she can read those words and so started to have interest in reading. But at times we need to correct her as not all words can pronounced using phonics. E.g she will say "answer" as "un-worth"

We also read her story books every night. But I think it is the love for reading that matters most. Cannot force, once the interest is dead and it will be hard to pick up

[smartmummy]

I send my son to I can read at midyear of K1.In a year he read books himself.From 2 years onwards I bring him to library and read books everyday.When he went to P1 he has no problem with English.He loves to read.The best gift is build love in reading.When I attend in the Principal speech,she said if a kid reads books then he/she will know grammer,spelling,stucture everything.

[1amber]

My 5 yr old DD’s treat every night is to get us to read to her. She seems to enjoy listening to stories more than reading the books herself, though sometimes she would pick up her favourite books and read the story to herself.


She is now able to read more and more by herself but I do not wish to make it too ‘clinical’ by forcing her if she really didn’t want to. Sometimes we are so tired to read but I guess the love for listening to stories and reading together is also a great time for bonding. Better cherish these moments before she grows up!

[cnimed]

Don’t worry, as long as they can read before Primary one it’s ok. One of my neighbour’s children only learnt to read in Primary 1 because she didn’t teach him before. The most important thing is to keep the interest alive and to find materials suitable for your child.


My son is a visual spatial learner with vision issues who hates rote learning. There is no way I could have used flashcards or readers. I never made him read or look at a book from birth but he will always ask to be read to from 3 - but he won’t look at a single page of words. I later learnt that it gave him a pounding headache. At the start of K2 he had trouble with the simple readers. By June his reading age was tested to be 8 years old. 10 months later, after we resolved his vision issues, he now reads chapter books comfortably and secretly under his duvet. His late start was no hindrance.

DS2 is supposed to be N2 now. He doesn’t read either and I’m only just teaching him the phonic sounds very casually now.