Expert Advises Against Forcing Children to Read Before School

Professor Yelena Pristoba, director of the Child Development Institute, highlights that before starting school, children need to acquire fundamental skills including understanding sounds, letters, numbers, as well as abilities in comparison, classification, and generalization.

She explains that parents should not compel their children to learn reading and writing prior to school enrollment, as these responsibilities primarily belong to educational institutions according to the law.

“Parents may make a mistake by teaching their children too early,” Pristoba states. “What is most important is for the child to develop an understanding of sounds, letters, and numbers, to learn comparison, classification, generalization, addition, and picture description, along with acquiring basic social knowledge. This constitutes true readiness for school and helps the child become an outstanding student. Naturally, the school will take charge of teaching reading and writing as stipulated by law.”

She further notes that a child's growth is determined by changes across physical, cognitive, emotional, and social domains, pointing out that children go through three developmental stages before school, each with distinct characteristics.

Pristoba clarifies that children's cognitive abilities—including senses, perception, memory, thinking, imagination, attention, and willpower—develop gradually. She stresses the importance of parents supporting their children in alignment with these stages to ensure healthy and balanced development.