My oldest daughter (now 33) wanted to read when she was two.  So, I taught her.  I wasn't a teacher yet but the daughter of a teacher.  I made flash cards with the letters on them and taught her the sounds that the letters made.  Then I began to teach her to read.  By 4 she was reading the encyclopedia!  She reads voraciously.  She can read a book like "Gone With The Wind"  In less than 6 hours.  She had a special library card in high school that allowed her to check out 20 books a week!  I don't read that fast, believe me!
Now her oldest is 4 and she is trying to read.  She is doing pretty well.  I know that we require our Kindergarten kids to begin learning to read.  I always thought kinder was for learning the rules of getting on in school, but not any more.  Now they have curriculum!!!  I know my daughter had problems in school because she read so far above the other students.  It was a problems at times.  The teachers didn't know what to do with her.  At lease Molly is almost 5 so she won't be too far ahead.  But, the question still remains: When do we teach our children to read?
Kindergarten and preschool are turning into "getting ahead of the others" situations.  Is this good for the kids?  Is it to their advantage to learn to read so young?
In fourth grade we teach fractions and it is so hard for kids because it is often too abstract for them.  I wonder if we are pushing too hard to keep up with the other countries.  We educate ALL our children and they only educate their highest students and yet we are compared with each other.  When do these little ones get to be little?