Childhood is not a race to see how quickly a child can read, write and count. Childhood is a small window of time to learn and develop at the pace which is right for each individual child.
– Magda Gerber

In her Los Angeles Times article, “Parents, chill: Why you don’t need to teach your 3-year-old to read,”Jenny Gold reassures parents (and early educators) that earlier is not better when it comes to reading, and pushing too soon can be detrimental.

She quotes a number of early literacy experts including Exchange Press author, Stacy Benge:

“‘When we talk about early literacy, we don’t usually think about physical development, but it’s one of the key components,’ said Stacy Benge, author of The Whole Child Alphabet: How Young Children Actually Develop Literacy. Crawling, reaching across the floor to grab a block, and even developing a sense of balance are all key to reading and writing, she said.

‘In preschool we rob them of those experiences in favor of direct instructions,’ said Benge. ‘There’s a lot of money to be made in our worry about our children being behind.'”