Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion 3yo can spell but can't read

Has she seen the word "oatmeal" a lot on a breakfast box or something? What about the other hard words? That's the only part that seems a bit odd to me here, because I think being able to spell short words, like cat, while not really being able to read yet is fairly common. Some kids even learn to read by writing, in a way. My DD had many sight words and could break down and spell easy phonetic words lonnnnng before she could "really" read. DS was really different--he worked through phonetic readers methodically, having few sight words, and then made a leap to full reading. It's interesting how this skill develops!

Bingo.

I don't know for sure, of course, but as soon as I read that...

I bet that's why your DD has such advanced spelling and yet "can't" read.

There's a parallel with my DD's speech - she "couldn't" talk until 24 months, and yet she had a vast comprehended vocabulary and could hear just fine and made vocal sounds (laughter, crying, etc.). No tongue tie, anatomical or cognitive issues. Nope. Just... perfectionist. The first word she spoke to us came from behind the couch where we couldn't see her.

Maybe... could you try leaving your DD notes that she can read to herself? Somewhere where she can read them without being seen, and something really low pressure, but will "trick" her.

For example, you could write: "there's (favourite treat) in the kitchen if you want some." ...or something like that. Then see if she comes into the kitchen

My daughter said the same thing. She stopped reading when she started preschool (I think because none of the other kids could read yet) but what she told me was "if I read, no one will read to me."

(Now at 10 she happily devours books. I can't keep up with her. Luckily we have a library only four blocks away )

Thanks everyone. While it would be nice if she starts reading soon, the reason for my post was mainly because I was worried if this is normal or could potentially be a sign of a problem. I googled a lot before posting and found tons of info on children that read well but are not good with spelling. I was not able to find anything on the reverse. Also, I thought that children learn how to read first before they spell or write, so I was worried that dd would excel (compared to age mates) on the latter two without the ability to read simple CVC words. I am so happy to read that there are other children like mine.

@Michaela- LOL on the cost/benefit analysis. My dd sure knows how to play that game. She still doesn't self feed (except desserts) and is not fully potty trained because she does not see the need. She was a preemie so I worry about weight gain and willing to feed her instead of letting her starve. Oh well!

@Melessa- I think, like your son, my dd worries that I would stop reading. Every time, I ask for her help in reading a word, she catches on and gets super mad at me and screams,'mom, you know how to read it. You read."

@ElizabethN-I will try your approach and see where that goes. Thanks for the suggestion.

@Dude- It may be performance anxiety for dd as I have seen it before. She practices her new skills alone before she is ready to perform to an audience. I had no idea she could do simple math (add, subtract) until one day she just did a few to amuse me.

@Zen Scanner- I will be sure to ask her pediatrician for referral just to rule it out. She is pretty fast with mazes and puzzles.

@CollinsMom and Puffin- I am in no hurry for her to start reading. Just wanted to make sure this is not something that needs attention. Thanks for your reassurance.

@Ultramrina, Yes, she eats oatmeal for breakfast almost every day and her friend's name is on the school cubby. She did spell Oatmeal as "Otmeal". She can however spell many other long words phonetically that I am not sure she has seen many times before. Like you say, it is interesting to see how this skill develops.

@CCN- Love the idea of notes. Excited to try it.

Thanks again everyone for assuring me that this is normal.

CCN- it's funny your dd stopped reading at preschool. My ds loved reading to the kids. They would all sit around him. He loved it. He's not as "cool" for reading in kindergarten.

This has reminded me that my DD stood up from the dining table and went and wrote my name on the blackboard at about 2.5yrs old, she had a prolonged phase at 3.5-4 of walking around with a little pad and writing one word, tearing it off and leaving it behind, our house was full of little bits of paper. She didn't start to learn to read until 4.5, and took a year to progress to chapter books. And she has tracking problems, glasses help quite significantly.

Yeah... sigh. She's an anxiety-riddled introvert though. It sounds like your DS has stronger leadership skills

I'm reading a book called Raising Confident Readers by Richard Gentry right now. The author argues that writing usually comes before reading so it sounds like what you describing is pretty normal. This doesn't fit with what I see in my own child so I guess children can develop in different ways but what you are describing is probably not cause for concern.

Interesting... my DD started writing letters at 26 months (just upper case with straight lines - she hadn't mastered the fine motor for curves yet) and this was just two months after she started talking, so... she hadn't demonstrated word reading ability yet at that point. I honestly can't remember when the word reading started, but by 3 1/2 she was probably at about grade 2 level (contractions, compound words, silent letters, etc.). So yeah, her word reading likely happened after her writing started.

MotherofToddler, thanks for sharing the interesting detail. From my limited research, the way I understood it was that children will start to call some of their scribbles as letter and later as words and in fact, complete notes and differentiate it from artwork between 2 and 3 years of age. However, they are still not writing recognizable words. But I think you are right in that children start to write simple words such as their names probably before they start reading. I was more concerned with the huge gap in writing/ spelling ability vs reading ability in my dd. thanks.