Teaching Reading To Your Baby Can Be Fun

Most children can be taught word recognition at a very young age.  How?  It is a similar method to learning to talk – children learn to talk by being exposed to people talking around them.  To learn visual word recognition children need, first of all, exposure to the written word, in print.

Use children books with interesting stories. Picture books with few or no words in them will not teach your child to read.  However, exposure to children’s books with many pages of print and the occasional picture will trigger your child’s curiosity about the story as well as familiarizing him or her with the written word.  If, as you read to your child, you point to the words with your finger, your child will become more familiar with those words.  Eventually he or she will begin to recognize the words when he or she sees them, especially those with a high emotional attachments

Flashcards can also be used to reinforce names of objects in the child’s environment.  To teach your baby to read, on pieces of 10 x 10 inch plain white card, write words, in capital letters, that describe toys that belong to your child, for example “elephant’, and on another card ‘dog” and so on. Play the following game with your child.  Place all the toys on the floor.  As your child picks up a toy, show him the card with the word on it and say the word together.  Repeat it as man times as he or she likes.  Then read to your child a story about an ”elephant” or a “dog” or whatever animal or character you made word cards for.  This will reinforce the word in your child’s mind, building word recognition abilities and increasing vocabulary.  Additionally, invite your child to tell you a story, and you listen, write it down.  When your child has finished, read the story back to him or her and  point to each word as you go.  When your child sees words in the context of her own vocabulary, it will again increase her recognition of the written word.

You should not have a preconceived schedule of success. There is no fixed time frame here.  Your child could learn within days, weeks, or even months.  Each child is different and your child’s ability will not be tested, but yours will.  Your attitude, your patience, your perseverance, all of these will be tried and tested.  You will find yourself having to evolve your own method for making your child love it.

You can use your imagination on your own teaching methods. A teacher friend of mine had her own method of teaching her daughter.  She would hide a card with a word written on it behind her and approach her child playfully saying “What does mommy have for her baby”  The one-year-old would look up and try to reach for the mysterious object.  Then her mother would bring out the card and say with gusto “Cat!” The child’s delightful laughter proved that the game was having the desired effect.  In no time at all, the child could read words.  Soon she went on to short sentences.  Her mother bought various simple books and every one held a treasure trove of knowledge for her young daughter.  By the time she was four, the little girl surprised everybody  with her familiarity with words and sentences.  This mother’s success was due to her belief in her child, her healthy attitude, her patience, and her playfulness, which made her daughter look forward to every “reading game”

In the same way, you too can work out your own method for stimulating your child’s interest in the written word.  It will be a success because of your great love for your child.  And trust me, every second will be worth it.