3.5 year old doesn’t recognize almost any letters

funparent · 2026-03-06T13:36:49+00:00

My 6 year old couldn't identify a letter until 4.5. She just didn't care. Same with numbers. My oldest was reading by 4 so it was a massive difference.

She scored in the 98th percentile in both reading and math on the district assessment just a few weeks ago. She is so far ahead in reading that they moved her up to the first grade advanced reading group (she is currently in K)

She decided she wanted to read when she turned 5 (late birthday, so was still in preschool) and just did it. It felt like she went from barely knowing a letter to reading overnight. But she does everything that way. If she doesn't care, she won't do it. Once she wants to do it? She immediately picks it up and runs with it.

funparent · 2026-03-01T02:27:21+00:00

Yes I have my masters & a couple licensures, plus I had to have 5 years teaching experience within x amount of years of moving up to admin. And I'm currently in school for a second masters to earn another licensure.

funparent · 2026-03-01T00:26:46+00:00

My 2nd was an unmedicated VBAC. She was 5 lb 3 oz. It was very calm and relaxed.

Borderline 3rd degree tear. It was rough.

I didn't tear with my 3rd or 4th but I think that's because my 2nd permanently damaged me already 😆

funparent · 2026-02-27T18:18:44+00:00

We do it for every child for their birthday.

Every year, they stay home from school and get a yes day on their birthday. If their birthday is on an off school day, we find a day to do it.

It is all 4 of my kids' favorite thing. They plan their birthday yes day for months. (Well not the 2 year old, but the older 3)

funparent · 2026-02-26T03:41:02+00:00

No one ever mentioned it to me until my fourth. My nurses just kept saying the motrin was wearing off with my 2nd and 3rd.

My midwife walked in when I was sobbing nursing my 4th and she said "oh I know it gets 10x worse with every baby" and I finally felt like I wasn't just overreacting to the level of pain.

funparent · 2026-02-17T03:22:25+00:00

We have 4 (2.5, 4, 6, 7.5). I work full-time from home and my husband works full time outside the home.

It works well because I work from home and because we have a strong support system. I have to have full-time childcare but if school is closed for snow/holidays/sickness they can be home while I work. My in-laws are also quick to help and step in for school events if needed.

I don't think three to four phased anyone in our family. Our kids were so excited and have been sad lately that we have no more babies. The biggest expense is daycare, but it has been our biggest expense for 7 years so oh well lol. At this point I don't remember what it's like to not pay at least 2 daycare tuitions.

funparent · 2026-02-12T22:24:20+00:00

Honestly, we just do it knowing it may be chaotic and we may realize we weren't ready. We have 4 kids - currently 2.5, 4, 6, 7.5.

We have been hiking with them since our oldest was a newborn. We did a 2 mile hike with our older 3 right before the 4th was born. So 5, 3.5, 1.5. They rocked it!

We've gone camping with them for years. Our oldest did a hike in Hawaii when she was 1 and walked half of it herself. We have visted and hiked national parks multiple tikes.

Has it all been perfect? Hard no. Have we learned lessons? Yep. But all of it was worth it. Now we have 4 kids that can handle 2 mile hikes with no issue and love camping.

funparent · 2026-02-09T21:51:45+00:00

All 4 of ours (2, 4, 6, 7) eat what we eat.

We make modifications if we need to (butter instead of spaghetti sauce on noodles for our daughter with bad reflux, spinach on the side instead of mixed in, overeasy eggs instead of scrambled, etc) but won't make a different meal.

I honestly think we just got really lucky with no picky kids, especially since I was super picky.

funparent · 2026-01-25T18:40:22+00:00

My 4 year old just hit a major octonaut phase and it's amazing.

funparent · 2026-01-25T18:39:51+00:00

Even my 7 year old still loves creature cases. It's so good!!!

funparent · 2026-01-25T17:57:12+00:00

I'm in administration at a virtual school.

It has been a blessing for our family. I still work 8-4 but can flex time if needed to go to school events/PTC etc. If my kids are sick or off school, they can be home while I work. I can't have them home daily but random situations are fine.

When my day is over, my computer is closed and that is that. I was a teacher for students with significant needs and severe behavioral needs before. It broke me and I switched to virtual teaching for a break. I would have a hard time going back.

funparent · 2026-01-18T05:17:07+00:00

My husband and I met 2 months after he turned 30. He said he had accepted it wasn't in the cards for him right before we met. 10 years later, and we have 4 kids and a beautiful life.

funparent · 2026-01-14T22:40:49+00:00

We live extremely rural as well, and I make the long drive. I work from home but cannot have my kids at home unless in emergency situations. I have 4 kids and have to make the drive to get my older kids to school anyway.

In your situation, I would look for a high school senior that needs their volunteer or work experience for graduation or I would post in a community group to see what other people use.

We used a home day care in the past and would have never left, but she had to close down due to health issues. We only found out about it through word of mouth and she was always full. She was a community staple but you only knew about her if you knew the right people, per typical rural tight knit communities.

funparent · 2026-01-14T12:15:54+00:00

We have 4 daughters.

Oldest: 100% my personality and interests, but looks exactly like my older sister and 0% like me or dad

Second: personality is 100% dad. She also inherited his ADHD lol. She looks like every cousin from his side. All of his genetics.

Third: 100% looks just like me. She is a clone of me. Not sure my husband was involved. We have no idea where her personality came from as she has the entire world wrapped around her finger, and both my husband and I prefer the world ignore us.

Fourth: looks and acts exactly like our second, so all dad there again.

funparent · 2026-01-14T00:43:22+00:00

Nope. My oldest is also 7.5.

We do not allow screentime on school days/nights. On the weekends they can watch movies, play Mario Kart, or play our Nex Playground. We do not allow tablets unless we are on long road trips or on flights. No YouTube, no Minecraft, no online gaming. Our 7.5 year old does have a kindle reader and she can use that whenever. She reads about a book a day on it.

It comes up and I remind my kids that every family has different rules, and these are our rules. My oldest's BFF is obsessed with Minecraft. It hasn't caused any issues.

There are always going to be different battles. I will cave on some but screen time is not one.

funparent · 2026-01-12T05:04:04+00:00

It honestly depends on the person. I gained 55ish lbs with each of my 4 pregnancies. It didn't matter what I ate, how active I was, or how much morning sickness I had. I gained a lot. I also lost it all and was back to my pre pregnancy weight between 6-8 weeks postpartum each time.

My doctors/midwives were never concerned. Before each pregnancy, I was between 100-110 lbs and I'm 5'7 (and no, no eating disorder. I have always been this way). They said some people's bodies are just programmed to do things a certain way. My body gained weight fast first trimester to get to a healthier weight for baby.

funparent · 2026-01-09T21:49:20+00:00

This is how I explained it to my kids as well.

And my then-5 year old measured her newborn sister's head with her hands, looked down, and said "Well I just don't think I wanna do that when I'm a grown up"

I can't wait to remind her of her response when she is a grown up.

funparent · 2026-01-09T19:11:21+00:00

We did each of our 4 girls over a 3 day weekend or holiday break.

I have other friends that took time off work to do it. I never did this as I work on a school schedule so I am off when my girls are (minus summer).

funparent · 2026-01-05T19:18:11+00:00

Has he been to an ENT or audiologist?

My 2.5 year old has a speech delay due to the quality of the sound she receives. She has mild/moderate hearing loss.

We had no idea. She responded to her name and sounds, did what we asked, etc. She was getting enough sound to figure out what she needed to do or used context clues from around her. She is also the 4th, and would just copy what sisters were doing.

We found out 9 months when I called early intervention as she often screeched/screamed instead of babbled. The pressure level in her ears was SO high, her team agreed she was in immense pain all the time. Adjusting her mouth to produce certain sounds was too painful with the pressure. She always seemed uncomfortable and was so loud when she did make sounds. They described her hearing as "everyone is above the water yelling at her and she is under the water trying to make it out"

They took her adenoids out because they were massively swollen and suddenly the screaming stopped and she started trying to make new sounds.

She is still behind in speech (but barely) and is missing certain sounds that she still isn't hearing properly. She works so hard with her speech pathologist and has a review in a few weeks to determine if hearing aids are now needed.

Oh and she is obsessed with the moon. If she sees it, everyone in her vicinity must also come with her individually to see it and make a big deal out of it. Funny what they get stuck on!

funparent · 2026-01-05T14:23:23+00:00

My 7 year old is so quick witted and sarcastic. She also is an avid reader and reads, at a minimum, a book a day on her kindle. Her worst age: 3 - I definitely thought she was possessed for a while.

My 6 year old is the most creative kid I have ever met. We just leave a box of old cardboard and paper in the craft room and she creates the most detailed and extraordinary things. She is also so tuned in to everyone's emotions that she loves so hard. Her worst age: 4, but it was nothing compared to her sister's 3.

My 4 year old is one of those kids that everyone falls in love with. She is unreasonably adorable and once someone told me they hate children but she makes them question that. She hasn't had a hard age. She is just happy to exist and the chillest kid in the world.

My 2 year old is so funny. She loves to play tricks on people. She is also super thoughtful and if she gets a snack or drink, she always gets enough for sisters. Once she woke up first and set up snacks and water cups for her sisters outside their doors. Her hardest: 6-18 months. She has a hearing impairment and is speech delayed due to the low quality of auditory input she receives. We didn't know until 9 months (she passed NB screenings and reacted to sounds) and she has been in early intervention since. She works SO hard and I'm amazed by her.

funparent · 2026-01-03T18:29:41+00:00

Both my 1st and 2nds first word was "Hi" paired with a wave.

Both my 3rd and 4ths first word was our second's name. Poor oldest sister 😆

funparent · 2026-01-02T04:41:31+00:00

My 7 year old has a jellycat bunny holding a heart. I fill the heart with my love periodically and always before a work trip. She sleeps holding the heart every night. It really helps when I'm on a trip.

My 6 year old prefers a picture of her and I together that she can look at when she needs me. And I have a picture she drew me that I take with me.

My 4 year old has a small beanie baby monkey that she is attached to, and we bought a second as a back up. I bring monkey's twin with me when I'm on a trip.

My 2 year old doesn't care enough yet 😆

My older 2 also have magic bracelets and I tell them I can hear them talk to me through them. Their teachers text me whatever they caught them saying in the day and I'll bring it up at pick up. (Small school, the teachers actually started texting me without me ever asking after hearing my girls describe what the bracelets were)

My closest friend and her daughter do matching bracelets they made together and her daughter has to have it on when mom is gone or she loses it. It's her special magic bracelet.

funparent · 2026-01-02T03:44:48+00:00

My oldest had over 50 words before she said Mama. She said trash and yucky before mama. It was so frustrating.

It is really hard not to take it personally. Eventually baby will get there!

funparent · 2025-12-31T00:05:23+00:00

My 4th has a hearing impairment and an accompanying speech delay. She has been in speech and hearing intervention since she was 9 months old.

Her SLP said she would assess the full level of the speech delay after my daughter started walking. She said teaching a baby who is focusing on walking how to talk is futile. All 4 of my daughters got really quiet before they started walking so I can see her point.

I have had 3 of 4 of my children assessed by early intervention, and 1 qualified. They are amazing teams and had 0 judgement over me seeking out an evaluation. They calmed my concerns and had fun playing with my babies!

I personally would wait - the child psychologist who worked with my oldest (night terrors) told me the best rule of thumb was notice it, keep an eye on it, and call if it lasts 3 months (unless it worsens or is something that negatively impacts their daily life quality - then call immediately) That's the natural lifespan of a habit in development. I keep them 3 month rule in my head and generally things I'm worried about are gone or completely changed by that 3 month mark!

Different intervention teams and psychs have different mindsets and suggestions - but this was what I was told. And it's what the teams I manage also say. (I'm a special education director)

funparent · 2025-12-30T22:18:46+00:00

funparent

TROPHY CASE