Is my Ds at the right stage for his age?

[ukgirl23]

My son is 4 he will be 5 in may.. he only knows 2 letters out of the alphabet and cant put his own socks on yet. I never really thought there was a problem until he started school. they have given him words to learn but he cant sound out the letters because he doesnt know the alphabet. I tried to teach him the alphabet. I was working on his numbers with him. He just doesnt seem to be grasping it. He has learned to dress himself more independantly and zip up his own coat and put his own shoes on. He is very good at remembering directions and places but his speech isnt so great. he has had speech therapy and improved a lot. Im just very worried about him because as a baby his head measurements were below the bottom centinile and I wonder if he has a problem. Before I go to a doctor to check him over I wanted to be sure he was just a typical 4 year old or not. Hes very good at role play and using phones and computers. Thank you xx

 

[RachA]

I would hold off going to the drs at the moment. When my lo started school he knew the letter D and that was it. He seemed to be so far behind his peers as they all knew their alphabet and letters. However by the time he finished in Reception he was either average or above average in anything academic.
Before he started school i had to dress him totally. Once he started and realised he had to change for PE then he learnt - i still have to do his socks for him though for some reason!!!

I would see how he is progressing after Christmas. You can always speak to his teacher about how he is doing.

 

[mummy3]

Its hard to say really, how long has he been in school? Its positive he is improving with the speech therapy my little guy is 5 in january, he cant dress himself at all, and has to be helped with feeding, cant write or even draw a circle etc but can do his alphabet and is getting better with speech. He's had a year and a half of school now though and still doesnt do role play (he has autism). That said the school has said my son has good school readiness skills so I wouldnt be too worried hun but might be worth the chat with your doc even if to put your mind at rest

 

[Lucasmum]

All kids are different, Lucas will be 6 in November but when he was that age, he couldnt really write much, read or know many letters, you will be surprised how quick he will come on, Lucas still struggles with his zip and his drawing is like that of a 3-4 year old, then again so is mine

I would hold off the doctors just yet and like Rach said maybe see what has happened by the time the new year comes round and make an appointment to see his teacher

 

[mum22ttc#3]

I agree with the others, I would personally hold off from the doctors for now.

DD2 is 4years and 5 months. She can get her self dressed but is very slow and socks seem to be the worst, she is forever getting them twisted.
When she started school in September she could recite her alphabet but could only recognise 4 letters, the 4 that are in her name, she could also recognise only 4 numbers. In the last 5 weeks she has learnt to recognise all numbers up to 10 and probably another 5-6 letters. She has also just started recognising her phonics but probably only 5-6 again.

I think that all kids are just different and you might find that as soon as he starts picking up the first couple he may get them pretty quickly from there.
If you're still worried perhaps speak to his teacher and see what she thinks.

 

[mrsholmes]

I would come away from computers etc. I taught the alphabet with a wooden jigsaw ( the peg type) from toys r us, i think it's easier than reading on a screen. I used it along side drawing, asking loads of questions and giving praise. He's 3 years and 3 months and knows all letters and sounds and can pick letters out individual letters .?

 

[sabby52]

All kids are different and will learn at different rates, Dec will be 5 in 2 weeks times and although he can dress himself and do zips ect, he still has difficulty with his socks.

I find flash cards to be great for kids, we actually displayed all our number and letter flash cards on the wall for Dec and he has learned them at his own rate, he knows all numbers up to 100 and all the letters of the alphabet, he can write and spell a few words, but tbh this is only because the letters and numbers have been on display for over 2 years now and sometimes we will sit and go through them. He doesnt know many sounds yet as he hasnt started phonics yet, all he knows is the sound for S and D.

 

[ukgirl23]

thanks everyone!! You have helped so much, I was feeling like my son was behind for his age, so reading about your LO's has helped loads! We have been to smiths and brought some books to help him learn the alphabet. I will get the flash cards too now after reading this. I will also be checking out the stuff in toysrus when I go baby shopping at the end of the month! I will see how his progress goes until jan and see what his teacher thinks. xx

 

[isil]

I honestly wouldn't push it. My LO is a similar age, and we don't really do much at home. They have a lot to get used to at school. If he is interested, yeah, buy him some phonics things but if he doesn't want to then I wouldn't push it. You don't want to turn him off learning.

 

[morri]

Don#t worry some kids learn early some later. heck In Germany kids don't even learn to read and write before 6 or 7 years of age so don't worry.

 

[ukgirl23]

morri, we lived in Norway for years and most of the kids there could read and write before they started school at 5-6 years old x

 

[RachA]

My brother and his family live abroad (Faroe Islands). They don't start school until they are between 7 and 8 - most of the children can't read and write by the point, other than their name etc. By the time they are 9 they have caught up really quickly. The optimum age for learning is actually around 7 years of age.

 

[ukgirl23]

its strange how different cultures are different learning stages. My daughter was really advanced for her age, at 5 years old they placed her at the same mental and intellectual age as a 7 year old. So I guess after having a child who is so fast to learn, my son who is actually maturing at a good pace seems super slow in comparison. Its hard not to judge between the 2 some times.

 

[RachA]

I know what you mean. Daniel has always been advanced for his age and so makes Esther look very slow!