Some children figure it out earlier, but really, children should learn to follow and tell stories and practice that skill for years before they start to read.

They need to develop basic language skills before they read, and most children don't have the vocabulary or feeling for language that they need to read at the age of 5.

Starting to learn to read at six or seven is just fine. You make up for lost time because you are more mature.

she let us know that she was quite put out because he could not read, write his name, and do basic math when he entered kindergarten. We thought perhaps standards had changed because there is a 10 year gap between my 2 youngest children and none of my 3 daughters other kindergarten teachers had ever indicated anything of the sort

It makes too easy to express yourself in inappropriate ways. Sometimes you don't think about what you are saying when you are frustrated. In this case I would want to look at the total body of this teacher's comments along with her performance in the classroom. Of course her command of the English language also seems limited, but could that be playing to her audience of friends.

I am not a teacher and my kids go to school in a district in which the parents are very supportive and have high expectations. Discipline is still a problem in many of their classes.

However, why does this woman think that every parent has the time or skill to teach their offspring to read before they get to kindergarten? What makes her think that every child has the skill to do so?

It sounds ridiculous to me; that is what she is being paid for, no?

My oldest daughter did not learn to read until after she was 6 1/2 (European school). That was great. She learned very easily and was reading really well very quickly. But she wasn't overfocused on reading. She had learned other language skills like telling and listening to stories -- at an age when she was mature enough to really grasp what storytelling was about.

I think it is much better for a child to wait. This is especially true of boys. In terms of understanding what you read, you don't read better at eight or nine just because you learned to read earlier.

Many children do not have the patience to read at five.

I wonder whether one of the reasons for our ADD epidemic is pushing kids to read early.

That's possible, but I was able to read at the age of five. I admit that it did help, in some ways; I was able to teach myself things that the teacher was unwilling or unable to do, and it led to a lifelong habit of learning by reading.

It's neither better nor worse, it just is.

That's not so bad though I would have read just as much had I waited. My daughter was older and reads a lot.

I do not like pressuring children to learn to read before they are, say, six. Each child is different, but most children need to wait.