Child Mag Month

Reading is one of those skills that can turn a child’s life around. Lack of it may close many doors and limit his or her opportunities. Good reading skills, on the contrary, will present numerous benefits to the child and positively impact his or her development. That is why it is of utmost importance to teach your child to read.

Begin with yourself. Children learn by copying our behaviour. So if we sit all day in front of a TV or computer screen chances are you won’t see your child leafing through a copy of the New Yorker any time soon. Start from a very early age. As soon as your child is able to hold a rattle in his hand get him an infant-friendly book of a pocket size. It should be light and small, easy to hold in those unyielding little fingers and should be of a material durable enough to sustain the babies’ gums and teeth so paper won’t work at this stage. Do plenty of page turning together. This will become a good habit and familiarize your child with the feel of books.

Read aloud as much as you can. Pre-natal reading is encouraged but if you missed that part don’t despair and start from today. The sound of speech is connected to reading and word recognition so chat with your baby with the emphasis on rhythmic patterns like nursery rhymes and baby songs. All of this will encourage reading later on. And that’s what you want in the first place.