"3-Year-Old Reading Too Early?"

:My sister and brother-in-law have taught their 3-year-old to read and to do simple calculations already! A lot of their play has centered around letter learning. Does it seem early to be stressing this kind of learning? Could he be missing out on other forms of play if he is spending so much time learning to read and do math? When do you suggest teaching letter sounds explicitly?

Your question is an important one. We are discovering more and more about how children learn during their first years. We know that a baby's brain is still developing even after birth and that critical connections are being made in the brain during these early years. We know that a child's experiences and relationships are critical to his learning. We even know that there are some optimum "windows of opportunity" for learning. Armed with this exciting information, parents are eager to maximize their child's learning from the very start and educational toy manufacturers are delighted to profit from it. Clearly, your sister and brother-in-law are interested, caring and involved parents who want the best for their child. Teaching a child to read and calculate when he is ready is not necessarily a problem. But there are a couple of things to be aware of when we start teaching young children academics.
. Keep a broad definition of "learning." One possible problem is that "learning" most often gets defined narrowly by how many letters and numbers a child can recite, read or calculate. While this is very impressive to adults, this is only a tiny part of the learning that is so important for young children to experience.
. Children need time for self-directed learning. Sometimes we are so concerned with this kind of academic learning that we interfere with the amount of time a child has the kind of self-directed learning which happens through play.
. Children can feel pressured by early academics. Lastly, early academics can be problematic if a child feels pressured or is expected to do tasks he is not ready for. In this instance a child may develop a poor sense of himself as a learner or a resistance to academic learning that could stay with him long after his early learning experiences.
What is important for children to learn in the early years?
      We know that children are developing emotionally, physically, socially, and creatively, as well as cognitively in the early years. They need to learn that the world is a safe place and that they can depend on the people around them before they can learn anything else. They need opportunities for "hands-on" learning; for watching the sand sift through the spaces between their fingers; for climbing, jumping, balancing, throwing, running. They need experiences where they can discover, explore and invent. They need chances to practice building relationships and problem-solving what to do when there are two children and only one truck. Children don't just learn in one area at a time. They are continuously developing in all of these areas.
What can a child learn from play?
      Play is the essential element of a young child's learning. Through play children can learn cause and effect, the laws of gravity, conservation, seriation, categorization, size, number, shape, weight, comparison. They can learn about relationships; about power, control, negotiation and consensus. But, even more importantly, because children are the authors of their own play, they learn how to learn. They learn that they have good ideas, that they can make things happen and that they are competent. They learn how to work hard to achieve a goal and they get to practice dealing with frustration.
What do children need for their play?
      Children need time and space in which to play. They don't need expensive or elaborate toys. Sometimes, the simpler, the better. Building blocks, dress-up clothes, dolls or little figures, cardboard boxes, books, puzzles wheel toys, dirt, sand, water, digging tools and containers (stuff from the kitchen or the recycle works fine) are examples. Children need open-ended toys that they can use many different ways, toys that depend on the creativity of the child, rather than that of the toy manufacturer. Many toys today do so much that the child only gets to turn it on and push buttons-a passive involvement.
What can adults do?
      Adults have an important role in children's play. They are responsible for creating the time and space for it to happen. They may provide some of the materials, however, given the freedom, children are very resourceful in making toys out of whatever is around. Adults can also observe children's play and help by providing tools, ideas and facilitation when necessary. It is important, though, that children are "in-charge" of the direction of the play, as long as it is safe.
Parent's role as child's first teacher.
      Parents also play an important role as their child's first teacher. Some parents do this through conversation with their child, by sharing their interests and knowledge, and by observing and following the child's lead and interests. Other parents like to take a more direct approach and "teach" children concepts, information, letters and numbers. Both of these are useful teaching styles. While most involved parents do some direct teaching, others like to do more. The keys are to try to build on your child's interests, to stop when your child loses interest and to be sure that your child has plenty of opportunity for "unscheduled" time where he can engage in child-directed play.