The
objective of each family who wishes to help develop their young members’
reading abilities must try, above everything, to generate curiosity for reading
and interest and attraction for books and the written language. You can achieve
this by using different activities.
- Read
them a little each day. Choose a quiet time, like
the moments before bedtime, and start reading your little ones stories
appropriate for their age. This exercise will allow them to see reading as
a pleasant activity and will start associating sounds with letters.
- Help
them see the usefulness of reading. The written word does
not only appear in books, but also on various objects and spaces we use
every day. Parents can start teaching the children to make associations
between the written and the spoken language, if they involve the little
ones in these reading situations. You can read the street and shop signs or
the labels on food together. Another option is to place labels written in
large font on different objects in the house.
- Letter
games: there are games that help children learn and
recognize the letters of the alphabet, and associate them with complete
words. Some interesting games that you can play with your child are “I
spy…”, “Word chain”, or spelling names and words.
- Reading
with pictures: stories with pictures include images
that are easy to understand for children, and that can be easily replaced
by an appropriate word. This type of reading is very motivating, as the
children, though still unable to read properly, become more than mere
spectators of the process of reading.
- Be
an example yourself: growing up in an environment
that encourages reading is one of the most influential background factors
with direct implications on the child’s future reading skills. Parents
must allow their children to join them when they read, talk to them about
the text they are reading, help them create their own bookcase and
introduce to them the public spaces where they can get books from – that
is, libraries and bookstores.
