my grandson is 5yrs old he do not know what the abcs or 123s look like and get so up set he said he want to kill himself 1 time.or he ask can he go play now what can i do help i'm scared

[msvksmith]

my grandson is 5 he is in to sports and try hard to learn them all however he can not tell what the ABCs or 123s look like and get so up set he said he wanted to kill himself 1 time.or he ask can he go play now what can i do help i'm scared he was in daycare for 3yrs but never preschool and he just turn 5yrs old 03/23 he is really heard on himself with the sport he keep at it until he get it all of them. but reading ,drawing ABCs or 123s nothing catches on.

[Noda]

I'm not really sure what area the above post are coming from but we are in Canada my son who is in Senior Kindergarden and 5 years old is reading books along with all of his classmates who are his age.  As far as I know, from my son and his peers, they all could recognize letters and numbers by the age of 3.   His feelings of failure are probably stemming from seeing his peers know things he doesn't.
I think your Grandson is behind and your concerns are warranted.  You need to get him help as the above post mentions.  Has he suffered emotional stress?  My suggestion would be to have your pediatrician see him and possibly recommend someone from there.
Best of Luck

[April2]

I agree with the above poster. Many children still don't know their letters or numbers till they're in Kindergarten. Try to relax. He'll learn it in Kindergarten.
He sounds like a perfectionist. My son was like that and would rip up papers that weren't perfect. I had to learn to stay calm and remind him that it's ok to make mistakes. He's still a bit of a perfectionist today (he's 20) but not as bad as he was when he was younger. It's important to stay calm and positive and keep encouraging and praising him. Give him lots of hugs and encouragement. Try not to overreact when he says things like he wants to kill himself. He sounds like he's rather dramatic. Just tell him calmly not to talk like that and then change the subject and try to distract him. Try to find things that he's good at, too, so that it will build up his confidence and self-esteem, like a sport or karate or scouts or something. That way he'd be with other children his age doing something that where they have to work with each other and support each other. I think that would really help.
Keep reading to him, too. Maybe you could take him out and buy a book with him once a month or something and let him pick it out. Make it special. You can also make learning fun by positive reinforcements, maybe with stars or stickers. Young children usually enjoy that. I wish you both well. Remember, give him lots of praise and love!

[Sandman2]

    Your grandson just turned 5.  Very few 4 year olds can read or do numbers unless they have had very special training.  The average child starts Kindergarten when they are 6 and that is when they start learning to read.  It is very difficult to learn ABC,s and numbers by yourself without school help.  So relax a bit.
   What you can do for him is to read to him a lot.. Read books that are age appropriate.  There are tv shows on in the morning that cover numbers and letters.  There are counting games that can be bought. Don't try to teach him everything at once.  That is very frustrating if not impossible.  Start with one or two things (letters, etc).  Once they are mastered - move on.  Good luck!

[four63]

he needs a lot of help.  he is displaying a lot of trauma type emotional reactions.  after even one bad experience children do not recover from trauma by themselves.  if he is being subjected to repeated trauma he will end up with a lot of problems in the short and long term future.  he needs help now.  doctor, social worker, psychologist, child abuse trauma team.  he needs someone to take his hand and help him to be safe and navigate himself out of the situation that is causing so much pain to him.  he needs to trust someone enough to divulge.