How to Teach Your Baby to Read
Have you ever seen those videos for products that teach your baby to read?
Perhaps you’ve seen products that advertise your child can learn to read within two weeks.
Those always seem so gimmicky to me.
I suppose it’s because I’m familiar with the process of learning to read. I know what the prerequisites are. I’ve watched many different children learn to read over the years. Any person who buys products such as those needs to know that every child is at a different starting point. Therefore, the results will be different for everyone.
With that said, I’m going to share with you how you can set your baby on the PATH to learning to read. That means, you are laying the foundation. It does NOT mean you’re teaching your baby to recognize words by sight without sounding them out. If you lay a strong foundation, your child will learn to read when developmentally ready alongside proper instruction. Let’s talk about some simple and fun things you can do!
Talk and Sing to Your Baby
God made babies cute so we’d give them lots of attention and play with them. This helps their brains to develop. Sometimes, when it’s just you and the baby it can be difficult to talk since you know you’re not going to get a conversation going. Sometimes a baby will coo, smile, or laugh but of course those aren’t words. KEEP TALKING!
There are studies that go in depth on the learning gap in young children entering school who have not had much conversation in their home life. If you’ve been around children from various family backgrounds, you have seen this first hand. Those children who come from families who talk and sing together will have an advantage. Reading is language based. Talking and singing gives your baby more exposure to the language—more patterns, more sounds, more vocabulary!
You don’t even have to be a great singer, so put on some music to sing along and be sure to TALK ALOUD AND EXPLAIN as you go about your day doing tasks around your baby. It may seem silly if no one is talking back to you, but rest assured your baby is listening.
Read to your baby
Sure, your baby might want to chew on the book or even toss the book. Keep on! Those thick baby books are so special! When you read, point the pictures and name the items! ASK QUESTIONS!
—”Where is the ball?”
—”What color is the dog?”
—”Where did the baby go?”
Those are just a few simple examples. Again, this is similar to talking and singing. It’s immersing your child in the language. It’s creating a love of reading and stories and stamina to sit and listen and focus.
As your baby grows into a toddler, you can read more picture books with paper pages. They will be longer have more pictures and more story lines, as well as more opportunities to ask questions and talk to your baby. Be sure to move your finger along the words as you read. It teaches your child the proper direction.
Teach the ABCs
When presented well, children like to learn the ABCs. It gives them something that they can search for and find out in the real world on signs, in books, and around the house. Talking about the letter names and finding examples will familiarize your child with different fonts out there. Here is what I recommend:
-Sing more than one type of ABC song
-Play with ABC foam letters at bath time
-First learn the letters in the child’s name or family member’s names
-Keep letter magnets on the refrigerator out for play
-Play with ABC blocks
-Name letters like you name animals (and ask what sound they make)
-Teach the short vowel sound first
If you’d like more details on teaching the ABCs, watch my video “How to Teach the ABCs” or purchase my mini-course: “A Busy Mom’s Guide to Teaching the ABCS”
Remember that YOU are your child’s most influential teacher. You don’t have to wait on school to get involved and your child excited about learning. Lay the foundation early on, and it will help so much. If you follow my advice, you will have created many enjoyable memories for you and your child to share.
Watch learning videos on my Youtube channel, The Parent Teacher Bridge.
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My latest course is “A Busy Mom’s Guide to Teaching Your Child to Read,” where I walk you through all the early stages of reading to teach your child in midst of busy days. Sign up here to get on my email list and get a free guide for teaching the ABCs!