Read early and read often. The early years are critical
to developing a lifelong love of reading. You can't start reading to
a child too soon!
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Read
together every day.
Read to your child every day. Make this a warm and loving time when
the two of you can cuddle close together. Bedtime is an especially
great time for reading together.
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Give
everything a name.
You can build comprehension skills early, even with the littlest
child. Play games that involve naming or pointing to objects. Say
things like, "Where's your nose?" and then, "Where's Mommy's nose?"
Or touch your child's nose and say, "What's this?"
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Say
how much you enjoy reading together.
Tell your child how much you enjoy reading with him or her. Look
forward to this time you spend together. Talk about "story time"
as the favorite part of your day.
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Read
with fun in your voice.
Read to your child with humor and expression. Use different voices
for different characters. Ham it up!
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Know
when to stop.
If your child loses interest or has trouble paying attention, just
put the book away for a while. Don't continue reading if your child
is not enjoying it.
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Be
interactive.
Engage your child so he or she will actively listen to a story.
Discuss what's happening, point out things on the page, and answer
your child's questions. Ask questions of your own and listen to
your child's responses.
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Read
it again and again and again.
Your child will probably want to hear a favorite story over and
over. Go ahead and read the same book for the 100th time! Research
suggests that repeated readings help children develop language skills.
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Talk
about writing, too.
Draw your child's attention to the way writing works. When looking
at a book together, point out how we read from left to right and
how words are separated by spaces.
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Point
out print everywhere.
Talk about the written words you see in the world around you and
respond with interest to your child's questions about words. Ask
him or her to find a new word every time you go on an outing.
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Get
your child evaluated if you suspect a problem.
Please be sure to see your child's pediatrician or teacher as soon
as possible if you have concerns about his or her language development,
hearing, or sight.
Learning can happen even as you're driving in the car,
taking the bus, or going for a walk. Parents of preschoolers can point
out words in the world around them the word top on a stop sign,
for example, and the word McDonald's on a child's favorite fast-food
place. Reading specialists call this "print awareness."
Eventually preschoolers learn to recognize written words
they see around them in books and magazines, on signs and billboards,
and on grocery lists and menus. Through this everyday experience, children
gradually learn that print conveys meaning; that it is the words and
not the pictures that are "read"; that words are composed of letters;
and that a page is read from left to right and from top to bottom.
Parents can also promote early literacy skills by defining
words for a child, by playing rhyming and other word games, and by often
repeating the letters that make up the child's name.
Reading and literacy are important issues for public television.
More information about reading is available at the new PBS Parents web site. Or check the main Reading
Rockets web site at http://www.readingrockets.org/
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