A mum has shared the reasons why she isn’t teaching her five-year-old son how to read at home.
Crystal Lowery, a comedian and writer at Creepy Ginger Kid, said although she and her family read books to her son all the time, they’re not going through the mechanics of how to read with him.
“Not just yet,” she wrote on Facebook on 19 August. “He’s too busy learning other things.”
Lowery listed the many things that her son is doing instead of reading, including exercising, being creative and learning the key to happiness.
Lowery wrote: “He’s learning how to build. From blocks, to sticks, to Legos, he feels the weight of the different materials in his little sausage fingers, and examines the physical integrity of the various structures he has made.
“He’s learning how to be creative. How to draw his own picture books full of monsters, and how to construct an imaginary spaceship with Amazon boxes.
“He’s learning about ecosystems. He looks at bugs, flowers, and thunderstorms and sees how fauna and flora inhabit the world together interdependently.”
And as well as his hobbies, Lowery said her son is learning how to apologise, forgive and focus on his blessings.
“He’s learning important lessons every day,” she wrote. “And though he may not show up to his first day of Kindergarten with ‘advanced reading skills’, he will come to the classroom with so much more.
“The ability to try new things without getting frustrated. The ability to make friends, even though friendship can be a messy business.
“The ability to listen to others and follow instructions. The ability to problem-solve.”
Lowery said she believed there is so much children can and need to learn that cannot be measured through tests and exams at school.
“And though someday his hours will be filled with phonics, and penmanship, and fractions, we aren’t worried about all that today,” she added.
Speaking to HuffPost UK, Lowery said: “I wrote the post to remind parents that there are many other things young children are learning besides phonics.
“We initially did teach phonics to our son. However, my husband and I decided to change our approach after reading data that suggests early phonics lessons are not the best way to teach literacy, and in fact could set children back.
“My husband and I value education, so we pour through research on parenting. I realised I had been forcing phonics on my 18-month-old so that I could brag. We changed our approach to teaching him literacy out of concern for him, not out of laziness.”
People responded positively to Lowery’s post, inspired by the mum’s words.
“I love this,” one person wrote. “The pressure that’s put on our tiny little humans is unreal. Can’t a five-year-old be a five-year-old?!
“They have a good 16+ years in school, I’m not trying to rush through these sweet tender years. I also think it’s more important to have a kind, well-behaved child than one that can ‘read this or do that’.”
Another commented: “You’re giving him all your time and letting him explore his mind and be more imaginative, must say very good parenting.”
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