Teach Your Child to Read Before he Goes to School

Teaching a child to read at a young age gives him a priceless and irreplaceable head start in life. Reading is the cornerstone of education and a child's reading ability will influence his school success dramatically. Learning difficulties, many of which stem from poor reading skills, can damage a school child's self esteem and affect his future achievement.Children are programmed to learn and they thrive on stimulation. Ten to twenty minutes of reading a day, within an encouraging environment, still leaves plenty of time for play.Parents concerned that learning to read is too challenging of a task for a pre-schooler, should remember that most children learn to speak by the time they are 3. Learning a language is probably the single most challenging intellectual task any individual can undertake, yet children do it without formal instruction, achieving the fluency that evades most adult language students. It follows that learning to associate letters with sounds is well within a young child's capability.Research studies conclude overwhelmingly that early intellectual stimulation can have a positive, long-term effect on your child's brain development. For a fuller discussion of these studies, view the complete version of this article: "Teach Your Child to Read Before he Goes to School".From birth you should be talking to and explaining things to your baby. Reading to him can be a mutually rewarding activity and is a wonderful way of spending quality time together.If your child is a fast learner you can help him realise his potential by introducing him to the joy of the printed word at an early age. This will lay the foundations for both a high achieving school career and a lifelong love of reading. If your child illustrates early signs of reading difficulties, your efforts may help him diminish such issues before he goes to school.It can be difficult to teach your own child: emotional issues inevitably arise within any family dynamic. Interactive, self-paced, programmes for learning to read English are an excellent option. They allow children to repeat new material as many times as they need to, without wearing out the parent's patience.