How to Teach Your Little Ones to Read

Some people believe that teaching a toddler to read before they are 5 or 6 years old is a futile endeavour. While it is not advisable that you pressure your 3 year old to be able to read and understand all of the books that you bought them, it is also not unthinkable that you encourage your toddler to start learning to read and to love books at a young age. There are many ways to start doing this, and here are some of the methods you can try:

Start reading to them daily at an early age

Yes, reading to a child daily starting at 6 months will encourage them to want to read as well. Sit your baby in front of you and read the book to them. Having them hear your voice reading the words in front of them will help them understand that reading is fun. You can start with alphabet books, if you like, with text that is big and colourful. You can then progress to word and rhyme books as your child grows.

Follow the words you are reading with their finger

Guide your toddler through what you are reading by holding their hand and having them follow what you are reading with their pointer finger. This will give them an idea as to where you are in the story and where they will need to turn the page of the book. It will also help keep them involved in the act of reading the book, even though it is only you actually reading it.

Be a good example of someone who loves to read

You cannot encourage your child to read, or to learn how to read, if they do not see you doing the same thing yourself. If you are reading the newspaper or a magazine, and they as you about it, sit them on your lap and read to them. This will tell them that you too enjoy reading, and so should they.

Make finding books they want to read easy by categorizing these

You can categorize the books you get for your child by having either shelves for different kinds of books, or book boxes that they can easily go through when they want to read, in their room. Mark areas on a bookshelf, or label book boxes with the types of books they have, and put their books in the right categories. If they feel like reading about the alphabet, they will know where to look. If they want to read animal books, they can easily find these in the appropriate storage unit or area.