I had to check my notes for these developments. DS 5 (almost 6) began reading sight words at early 2. At 3 he started decoding 3 letter words but hated doing it. He learned how to read mainly by asking us to tell him every word he didn't know and then memorizing it by sight. He was able to read Frog and Toad by the time he was almost 4 and now can read at a mid 3rd grade level but much prefers to read at a beginning second grade level on his own. In fact he does not seem to be into reading these days at all as his school is pretty academic and he finds the structure a bit tough and has resisted against it. As a baby he would let us read to him for hours and it was all he wanted to do. Now I guess he has other things to work on which he feels are very important. I do make him read 10 minutes a day (minimum of what the school asks the kids to do) and it is a real chore for him to settle down on his own and read even though the books are easy enough and have illustrations. So I guess to answer your question ds at the age of almost 6 is still not really reading independently though he can and has been able to for a few years!
