When should I Teach Reading to my child?

Thirty years ago, it was very rare for a parent to ask that question before first grade. But modern research has proven parents, teachers, and daycares to be wrong. A baby learns to internalize the spoken and written word long before he can talk or write. As a baby is read to or talked to, those experiences are collectively setting the stage for him to become a successful reader and writer later in life.

You can begin to teach reading readiness skills the moment your child is born. These skills include:

1. Building Vocabulary by talking,listening, and singing to him on a regular basis. Believe it or not, research tells us that for children to become early readers, they should listen and talk a lot. This helps him to understand the power of words and communication.

2. Creating print awareness by reading to him and keeping several forms of print in his environment. This strengthens his respect for books. It also creates a connection between the words he hears and speaks with the words that he hears.

3. Teaching the ABCs by 1st singing the song, and second using flash cards or other printed materials to identify the letters. This helps the child to make the connection between printed words and the letters that make them up.

By age 3, your baby should have had plenty of exposure to reading readiness skills. He should be ready to move on to the next phase of reading - phonemic awareness - the different sounds of the alphabet.

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