I’ve been reading about a fellow mom who has taught her older son to read. At age 3, the boy can now read over 800 words independently, that’s quite amazing! I take my hat off to her, for her dedication, discipline and patience in teaching her sons and at the same time I ask myself, would I do the same for my kids?
As a stay at home mom, I seem to have the luxury of time but for others who are in a similar situation to mine, you will know that’s not true. I truly believe that even though some toddlers seem to have a head start, most of the kids even out by the time they are 6.
Instead of wanting my children to read at an early age, I try to cultivate a love for learning. If they love to learn, they will carry this with them throughout their lives. I often wander if children who are pushed too hard early on, burn out earlier as well.
I have to admit, its hard not to be caught up in all this. Sometimes I ask myself, is Ally really lagging behind? But then my dear husband who is always the voice of reason gives me a reality check and all is good again.
Despite Ally’s endless questions which can get annoying, I know she’s asking cos she really wants to know and by answering her, she’s learning as well. I learn along with her, sometimes she asks me things that I don’t have the answers to and I have to go and check it out for her.
I hope to “protect” the children from the rat race that our local education system is famous for. But realistically, I know that they will be caught up in it anyway since they will be attending local schools. I went through it and like to think that I came out alright so I hope the same for my kids.
They grow up too fast! 
Hi, you just wrote my thoughts exactly!
I too was anxious when my kid don’t seem to be doing as well as compared to other kids.
But hubby, being voice of reason, pointed out that our kid is good at other things.
We call this the education matrix. In fact, I was going to write on this earlier but was too busy lately.
Like you said, no choice. Our plan is : pass can already, no need to A+. We do not want our kids to burn out.
Thanks for the post. It’s nice to know that we’re not alone in this school of thoughts
Yes exactly, some kids might not be academically inclined but they excel at other things. Unfortunately if we only focus on academic achievements, we might fail to see their other strengths. What I really want is for my children to have happy memories of their childhood. When they think back, I want them to say ” my mom and dad spent a lot of time with me and we always had fun” instead of ” my mom drilled me with flashcards everyday’
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I have the same thoughts on this as well, to cultivate a love for learning. To me that would be the best thing for any kid.
Being able to read and loving to read are two different matters.