Have you watched videos of children reading at a very young age and felt amazed at their reading abilities?

Research has shown that the reading abilities of children from birth through five years old predicts later achievement in literacy.

Benefits of Reading

Why Should Our Little Ones Learn to Read?

• Helps them to slow down

The reason behind the hyperactivity of our little ones is mainly due to their desire to learn through all their senses. They want to explore and understand how things work around them. If he is given an opportunity to learn about his world through the books, he will be far less hyperactive. He will learn so much more about his world and himself.

• Soaking Up like Sponges

Watch the learning abilities of a young child and you will be constantly amazed at the speed that they pick up things. Read a story to them and they would probably be able to repeat the main points of the story to you in no time. Teach them to read young because their ability to take in information will slow down as they grow older. The more good and quality information you feed them now, the more they will learn.

• Speed Reading

Children who learn to read at a young age tend to read at a rapid speed and can understand the text at the same time. When they begin reading at a young age, they are not required to produce answers through reading, hence they read with a more relaxed attitude, developing the ability to read rapidly and comprehensively.

How to Teach Your Child to Read?

• Your attitude towards reading matters

Do you enjoy reading? Does your little one enjoy seeing you read? The reason why they are probably desiring to play with your mobile devices could be because they see how engaged you are with them. They are curious to find out what you are engaged with. If they see you enjoying a good book, they would probably do the same as well. We must view learning as an exciting game, not work. Reading should never be used as a punishment for your child, it should be used as a reward instead. We must remember to never do anything to destroy our child’s natural attitude towards learning.

• The Best Time to Read

Choose your child’s best and happiest moment to read with them. When we do so, they will associate pleasant and happy feelings with reading. This will keep them wanting more. If your child is tired, hungry or upset, put aside any reading program. Your child will not learn. Not only that, your child will start associating negative feelings with the reading program.

• The Manner of Teaching

When introducing a reading program to our little ones, we must do it quickly. Children love to learn and they do it very quickly. When we do it too slowly and take too long to explain, we bore the child and they lose interest in the program quickly. It may seem too fast for us but our little ones can absorb and learn very quickly. We need to meet their speed of learning and, they learn instantly! While doing so, we need to continue to keep up with our natural enthusiasm and music in our voice as we read.

• Do Not Test

It is very tempting to test our little ones to find out whether they are able to read. The fact is that children hate to be tested and that is how they begin to lose their interest in reading. They feel that they are expected to perform. Perhaps, if we trust them and read to them with a joyous attitude, just one day, without your prompting, you may just be amazed at the amount of words and information he has learnt to read.

By Selene Diong, Principal Instructor at Sparkaknauts

This article was first published in The New Age Parents e-magazine