A mother has come in for praise today, after revealing why she is NOT teaching her five-year-old son how to read.

 

While Crystal Lowery’s statement may at first seem a little shocking, she assures her friends and followers that there is a point to it all – and we can totally understand her logic.

 

Although Crystal’s son may not be learning to read right now, stories do play a big role in his life.

 

“We read him books all the time. We’ve imagined ourselves in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, and we’re 170 pages into Harry Potter’s Chamber of Secrets,” she explained.

 

“We’re teaching him to enjoy stories, to get lost in characters…But we’re not teaching him how to read. Not just yet. He’s too busy learning other things.”

 

So, what are those things that Crystal deems more important right now? They include ‘being a good sport’ and not gloating; learning how to build, using materials such as LEGO and sticks; and how to exercise, to build up those muscles instead of sitting at a desk all day.

 

 

And there are other lessons, too, as she reveals: “He’s learning how to take care of his things. Through trial and error (oh, so much error!) he has seen what happens when he leaves a book out in the rain, or a lump of Play Doh on the table overnight…”

 

Crystal’s little boy is also learning how to be creative, how to apologise, how to forgive, and – most importantly – how to be happy.

 

“He’s learning that the key to happiness is to focus on his blessings rather than complaining about what he doesn’t have,” she adds.

 

While Crystal acknowledges that her son ‘may not show up to his first day of Kindergarten with advanced reading skills’, she is confident that ‘he will come to the classroom with so much more’.

 

“There is so much our children learn that cannot be measured with a standardised test,” she writes.

 

“And though, someday, his hours will be filled with phonics, and penmanship, and fractions; we aren’t worried about all that today.

 

“Today, he has more important things to learn.”

 

 

While one follower questions why reading and these other ‘lessons’ had to be ‘mutually exclusive’, it seems that Crystal’s message really hit home with a lot of other parents.

 

“I wish all my Pre-K parents would take this approach,” wrote one teacher.

 

“Good!” commented another. “I cannot STAND these ‘teach your three-month-old to read’ bulls**t things!

 

“When they leave school and look for a job, NO one is going to say, ‘Oh, you read at eight months old? You’re hired!’”

 

What are your thoughts on Crystal’s approach, mums?

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