I'm a bit worried because my son turns 8 in September and even though he knows his letters, he reads very slowly and gets frustrated. His classmates are already reading books and he can barely get through the reading method the school uses. Should I talk to his teacher or wait to see how things go next year?
At 8 years old there's still quite a bit of variation, yeah, but frustration is the key thing here - if your son gets blocked up when reading that's a sign he needs support, not to wait around. Talk to his teacher now, the sooner the better, because kids who get frustrated tend to avoid reading and that can create a messy cycle. It's not that there's something wrong with him, but you guys need concrete data: is he keeping pace with what's expected according to the school's standards? Does he have specific difficulties or is he just going slower? With that info you'll be able to decide if he needs extra tutoring or just closer monitoring through 2026.
Look, my nephew had something similar and his teacher told us there's a lot of variability at that age, some kids pick up the pace later 🤷♀️ That said, I think talking to the teacher right now is a good idea, not to freak out but so she can tell you if she sees it's within the normal range or if he'd need a bit of extra support. The frustration is what would worry me the most honestly, because if he gets mentally blocked it's harder for him to enjoy reading later. You could also try at home with books he really loves (comics, books about dinosaurs or whatever) so he sees that reading can be cool, without any pressure.
I'd say yes, talk to the teacher as soon as you can because at 7-8 years old most kids already read with reasonable fluency, even though some go slower without it being a problem. If he gets frustrated a lot while reading, it could be that he needs a bit of extra support or just more time, but the important thing is to identify it now and not wait until September. Seriously, teachers see these cases all the time and they know really well what exercises work to speed up progress, so there's no need to overthink it.
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