Comment Re:Why change the interface at all (Score 1) 537
MANY 3 year olds CAN read. Some can't, and that is not an indication of lesser intelligence or ability; some kids just develop differently than others, and some kids are exposed to letters and words and books earlier than others. But there are many, many 3 year olds, and even some younger children, who can.
My wife, myself, and my 2 older sons were reading at 3. My third son, who is just short of his 2nd birthday, knows his ABCs, and can read some words by sight (I'm not sure he understands what they mean yet, but he recognizes and says the word). He is ONE, he is not potty trained, and he does not speak in sentences longer than one or two words, but, for whatever reason, he learned. Our oldest, who has mild Asperger's, was able to read and understand long sentences and relatively complicated ideas, before he was able to grasp those same thoughts and ideas audibly; for some reason his brain was wired to understand things he saw in print better than things he would hear audibly. He also did not speak at all until around the same time he was beginning to read, although his verbal abilities are exceptional now.
BTW . . . a lot of their early literacy was enhanced with computers and educational videos. Pediatricians almost unanimously recommend against computers and TV at that age, and there are plausible reasons for that, but we did carefully choose what we would buy or rent and what sites we would open up for them, and, so far, I think it has worked well for us.