“He’s still little. Does he really need to learn to read now?”

It is a fair question.

We sometimes hear that a child should first and foremost play, handle things, run, tell stories and discover the world before facing “school” learning. On the other hand, some families want their child to learn to read and write as early as possible.

Between these two positions lies a far more interesting reality.

Learning to read and write early is not necessarily a race to perform. When it suits the child’s age, is gradual and sits within a rich environment, it can give a child something considerable: faster access to the written word, and therefore to an immense amount of knowledge, stories and ideas.

Learning to read is not just learning to decode

Reading is sometimes reduced to a technical skill: recognising letters, linking sounds, putting syllables together, reading words.

But the real goal is much broader. Reading gives access to language that does not need an adult in the room to be passed on. A child who starts to read can gradually:

understand an instruction;
discover a story on their own;
look for information;
read the name of an object;
understand the rules of a game;
explore a subject that interests them;
reread information;
choose what they want to learn.

Reading gradually changes the child’s relationship with knowledge: they no longer depend entirely on someone else to tell them what is written.

The first big benefit: independence

Picture a child who cannot read yet. When they come across a text, they have to ask: “What does it say?”

A few years later, they can simply read it.

The difference looks tiny. In fact it is fundamental. Reading gradually becomes a form of intellectual independence. The child can look things up, choose books, understand signs, read recipes, follow instructions, explore a subject that interests them.

Above all, they can start learning without waiting for an adult to tell them everything out loud.

Reading early also means meeting more language

Children learn a great deal of vocabulary by talking with adults. But the written word also opens up words and turns of phrase they do not necessarily hear in everyday conversation. Stories expose them to rich vocabulary, varied sentence structures and knowledge about the world.

The 2022 guide on preparing young children for school, published by the What Works Clearinghouse — the evidence-review body of the US Department of Education — recommends deliberately building vocabulary and language, knowledge of letters and sounds, and shared book reading.

So reading is not just one skill among others. It becomes an engine for everything else.

Decoding opens up words a child has never seen

This is one of the great strengths of an alphabetic writing system. A child who understands how letters and sounds relate can decode words they have never memorised. They do not learn each word as a picture: they learn a system. Faced with a new word, they can use what they already know to try to read it.

That is why research gives an important place to explicit, systematic teaching of letter–sound correspondences (phonics).

The US National Reading Panel’s review (2000) found that systematic phonics instruction clearly improves reading, especially in younger children.
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), the UK body that evaluates teaching practices, puts the average impact of phonics at about five months’ additional progress, and considers it an important part of learning to read early.

But reading is more than phonics

This is a key distinction. A child can decode a word without understanding it. They can read “crocodile” without really knowing what a crocodile is.

Skilled reading rests on several abilities that develop together:

awareness of sounds;
knowledge of letters;
letter–sound correspondence;
decoding;
fluency;
vocabulary;
comprehension;
knowledge of the world.

The research recommendations stress this whole picture: phonics matters, but it is only one part of complete reading instruction.

Decoding gets you into the text. Understanding lets you get something out of it.

What about writing?

Writing is sometimes presented as the step that comes after reading. In fact, the two support each other.

When a child learns that a sound can be represented by a letter, they can use that knowledge in both directions:

letters → sounds → reading;
sounds → letters → writing.

That is why the What Works Clearinghouse guide on foundational reading skills (2016) also recommends teaching children to write words, not just to recognise them.

Writing asks a child to do something fascinating: turn a thought into visible language.

Writing forces you to order your thoughts

When a child tells something out loud, they can correct themselves, change subject, add a detail, use a gesture, rely on the listener to understand.

Writing is different. Gradually, they have to learn to:

choose words;
build a sentence;
organise ideas;
keep things in order;
say exactly what they mean;
reread;
correct.

Writing thus becomes a tool for organising thought. It does not mechanically create smarter thinking, but it imposes a structure that helps a child make their ideas more explicit.

Starting early gives more time to get good

The principle is simple: a child who starts developing reading and writing skills earlier potentially has more time to practise them.

But be careful: earlier does not mean better. A child who learns very early in poor conditions may become frustrated or lose the pleasure of reading.

So the goal is not to “get the child reading as young as possible”. It is to let them enter the written world when they are ready, with teaching structured enough for them to really progress.

There is no magic age

Children do not all develop at the same pace. Some show an early interest in letters. Others are more drawn to stories, games or physical activity. Some grasp the alphabetic principle quickly; others need more time and repetition.

School therefore has to teach explicitly while watching each child’s progress and adapting to their pace. Early does not mean early for everyone at the same moment.

The pleasure of reading must stay at the centre

There is a paradox. The more a child learns to read, the more independent they become. But if learning is experienced only as a series of exercises, they may come to see reading as a chore.

That would be a shame, because a child who can decode but does not enjoy reading does not use the full potential of the skill. So alongside the teaching, we need to keep:

stories read aloud by adults;
picture books;
non-fiction books;
conversations about texts;
discoveries;
word games;
free reading at the right level.

The EEF also stresses combining several early literacy approaches rather than relying on a single method. Learning to read and loving books are two different goals, but they reinforce each other — and they keep curiosity alive.

Learning to read, then reading to learn

This is probably one of the strongest arguments for mastering reading early. At the start of school, the child learns to read. Then, gradually, they read to learn.

A child who reads with enough ease can access texts about animals, space, dinosaurs, science, history, countries, machines, sport, people who interest them.

Reading becomes a multiplier: each step forward opens up new content. As the What Works Clearinghouse points out, children who read with understanding early in their schooling can access a wider range of texts, knowledge and learning opportunities.

Writing becomes a tool for creating

The same happens with writing. At first, the child makes marks. Then letters, words, sentences. Then stories, explanations, arguments.

As technique improves, writing stops being merely an exercise. It becomes a way to produce something that did not exist before: a story, an idea, a letter, a hypothesis, an explanation, a project.

The What Works Clearinghouse guide on teaching elementary school students to be effective writers also recommends time for writing every day and explicit teaching of the writing process.

Early writing is not just “doing lines”

Writing is not only about reproducing letters correctly. A child can enter the written world in many ways:

making marks;
drawing and explaining what they have drawn;
trying to write their name;
linking sounds to letters;
writing simple words;
producing a sentence;
dictating a story to an adult;
trying to write a story themselves.

Among the early literacy approaches it reviews, the EEF lists teaching mark-making and letter formation, and interactive writing with an adult.

So a child does not need to start with pages of perfectly formed handwriting. They need to enter the world of writing step by step.

Starting early also reveals difficulties sooner

This benefit is less spectacular, but particularly important. When a child struggles with sounds, letters, decoding, writing or comprehension, early teaching and regular observation make it possible to spot it, and then adapt the support.

Systematic phonics is also particularly useful for children who find learning to read hard.

The aim is not to label the child. It is not to wait several years before realising they needed extra help.

And for a bilingual child?

The question becomes even more interesting. A bilingual child builds skills in two languages; reading and writing add another layer, because they must understand how writing works in each one. And letter–sound correspondences do not work the same way in French and English.

That makes an explicit, gradual approach especially important. But bilingualism is no reason to wait. When a child is taught appropriately in both languages, writing becomes an extra tool for strengthening their vocabulary, understanding and access to knowledge.

The key is simply to respect the child’s stage of development and the features of each language.

“If he learns to read very early, will he lose the joy of playing?”

Not necessarily. It is actually a false choice. A child can:

play and learn to read;
run and write;
make up stories and discover letters;
handle objects and learn sounds.

The point is not to turn pre-school into first grade. It is whether writing can be introduced gradually in an environment that stays lively, playful and suited to the child.

The answer is yes. Recommendations for young children support practices that combine language, books, letters, sounds and developmentally appropriate activities.

The real goal: giving the child the keys to the written word

Ultimately, learning to read and write early is not about being able to say: “My child could read at 4.” It is not a trophy.

The real goal is far more interesting. It is for the child to discover, step by step:

“I can understand what is written.”
Then: “I can find things out for myself.”
Then: “I can write what I think.”
And finally: “I can learn things nobody has explained to me yet.”

From then on, reading and writing are no longer just school skills. They become tools of intellectual independence.

So what are the real benefits of learning early?

When it is appropriate, gradual and well supported, learning to read and write early can help a child to:

develop decoding skills sooner;
gradually access more texts;
enrich their vocabulary and knowledge;
become more independent;
better understand written instructions;
learn to write and organise their ideas;
discover subjects that interest them on their own;
practise the fundamental skills for longer;
help adults spot certain difficulties earlier.

The evidence particularly supports explicit work on sounds, letters, decoding and writing, within an environment rich in language and reading.

Learning early, yes. Rushing the child, no.

This is probably the most important conclusion. The point is not to turn a four-year-old into a little pupil filling workbooks for hours. It is to give them, step by step, access to an extraordinarily powerful skill — reading — and to another one just as powerful — writing.

One lets them enter the knowledge produced by others. The other lets them start producing and organising their own ideas.

So the right question is not: “Is it too early to learn to read?” But rather: “How can we introduce writing early enough to gain its benefits, without turning learning into a constraint?”

That is where the quality of the teaching approach becomes essential.

At Da Vinci Private School

At Da Vinci Private School, learning to read and write is built step by step, with technical skills woven together with language, stories, curiosity and understanding.

In the final pre-school year, our CP Bridge Programme devotes an hour a day to it, in groups of no more than four children, with the French-speaking teacher: preparing for handwriting, phonological awareness, first steps in reading. In English, the English-speaking teacher sets the first written landmarks and gradually introduces reading. Learning then continues at our bilingual primary school.

The aim is not to bring every child into reading and writing at the same moment, nor to turn a fundamental skill into a race. It is to give them, step by step, the tools to become independent with the written word.

Because a child who starts to read does not just gain a school skill. They gain the ability to open a door onto the world by themselves. And when they learn to write, they gain something different again: the ability to leave their own ideas behind that door.

Learning to read and write early: what are the benefits?