I just want to add to my earlier post. I believe it is either in Sweden or Norway that reading is not taught until age seven. Whichever country it is, they have one of the highest literacy rates in the world. Reading didn't used to be taught in kindergarten. A generation ago, reading wasn't taught until first grade. There is scads of research that shows that teaching kids to read early is not beneficial, and in fact may be harmful. Note that this is not relevant to kids who self teach early! Also, as an unschooler, I personally know many kids who were not taught to read, and didn't read until they were nine or 10, at which point they took off like rockets. Not something that I would've been comfortable with – waiting that long – however, I do wonder if our culture privileges early reading too much.
I am fairly certain that my second child is dyslexic, so there is something to that mother gut feeling. If it feels like something is wrong, then get it checked out. I'm just suggesting that not reading by five six doesnt necessarily mean there is a problem.
