My dc started with the alphabet but progressed to whole words by 18 months. He seemed to intuit phonics via the "A" is for apple-type books.
I can still remember (OK, I was a first-time parent, so how naive was I) telling an acquaintance that dc knew the alphabet at 15 months. She snapped back something to the effect that dc probably could sing the ABC song but **certainly** didn't know the alphabet. Without missing a beat, dc pointed from the stroller at a stop sign and read, S-T-O-P. :-) He had been reading license plates with fascination for a month by then.
I remember telling my MIL that DS was recognizing letters around 17 months. She told me that her daughter knew the alphabet before 2. I had to clarify - "Not the song. We never sing he song. He is identifying letters!"
... "Oh! Well you really should be singing the alphabet song. He'll need to know that!"
