Yes, this touches the point that is overlooked. We are eager to assume that the cost of acquiring a (reading) skill is static and low, involving only time. The way I see this is that for toddlers the added value by hour declines rapidly, so instead of investing more time to teach my child to read properly, I prefer to teach/explore other things such as story telling, cutting shapes with scissors, etc.
The other problem is for children who superficially appear to understand reading. They may not get the help they need to progress because people thing they can read.
Isn't this a difficulty that any child would face, no matter what time they learned how to read?
I'd think in context---a child taught how to read in a one-on-one interaction with a parent is more likely to have their difficulties noted and receive help from that same parent, than a child taught how to read in a one-on-fifteen classroom setting.
