A good reading education actually begins way before people think. While children do not typically learn to read books independently until they are five or six years old, they actually begin learning the most basic reading and language skills when they are born, if not before. This is good, since reading is a very complex skill that takes a while to learn. Help your child learn how to read from an early age by following these six practical steps.

1. Read Your Children Books from the Time They are Very Little
Begin your children’s reading education by reading to them from the time they are born, if not before. Not only does snuggling up together to read a bedtime story provide a cozy bonding time, but it also prepares children for reading as they listen to the words and phrasing of written language on a page.

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Point out the title, author and illustrator of the books you read. Talk about the pictures. Ask questions to tie the information you are reading to your children’s real life experiences. Just make sure you read, read, read!

2. Make Reading Fun
Reading should never be a dreaded assignment or chore; it should be fun and pressure-free. Read engaging books about topics your children are interested in. Read in silly voices for each of the characters. Get excited about reading time and help your children get excited about it too. You could even find fun activities that complement the books you are reading, such as dressing up like the main characters, drawing pictures of the stories or baking foods that are mentioned in the stories. Anything to get your children interested.

3. Read a Variety of Different Materials
While story books are a given, do not limit your reading to just one type of book. Read fictional stories about fun characters. Read informational texts about the seasons, community helpers and vegetables. Read poetry to introduce the rhythm and rhyme of language. Read recipes as you cook and bake together to show how useful and delicious reading can be.

Read road signs and talk about how they help drivers know which way to go to get to their various destinations. Read store and restaurant signs and logos. It does not matter what you read—though it should be quality and appropriate for children—just read everything you can get your hands on and teach your children to do the same.

4. Start with the Basics
When your children become old enough to start learning to read themselves, start with the basics. Teach your children to recognize and identify all 26 letters of the alphabet and tell what sound each letter makes. You can practice letters with flash cards, educational videos, sidewalk chalk, the sides of cereal boxes or just about any creative exercise you can think of.

Once your children can identify all the letters and their sounds, practice blending the letters together to make very small words. Children who know all their letter sounds can sound out small words such as cat, ball and mom before working their way up to more difficult words. Their own names are also excellent words to start with, as they will have a more vested interest in learning to read them.

5. Practice Sight Words
While sounding out words is a very helpful strategy for young readers, unfortunately it is not useful for all words. Some words such as knight, gnat and hippopotamus break the rules or are simply too lengthy to sound out without forgetting all the sounds.

Words such as at, the, and are not difficult to sound out, but they are used so frequently that it is advantageous for children to simply recognize them at first glance. Sight words can be learned through flash card races and lots of practice.

6. Identify Reading Problems
Occasionally children will develop a problem with their reading process. They may inadvertently flip letters in their mind when reading. They may read a passage but have no recollection or comprehension of what they have read. They may constantly substitute words when reading. While some of this type of behaviour is normal as children learn to read, it can sometimes signal that they need additional reading help.

If you are worried, you may speak with your child’s teacher or a reading specialist, both of whom are trained to help your children become successful readers.

Reading is a crucial skill, but it is also a complex skill. Do not worry if your children take longer than you think they should to learn how to read. All children learn at their own pace and not all children pick it up immediately.

If you are worried, you may speak with your child’s teacher or visit helpful reading websites such as but the most important thing you can do to help your child is just to stay calm and read, read, read!

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Very insightful.
The future will be brighter with this. This Yahoo Yahoo generation is a mess

Thanks for the tips, I think it's very important to teach your child to read and love reading

If the child does not show interest in letters and even more so in reading - then you have failed to choose the right method of teaching reading. A personal interest is important in any education. I think children learning reading should go through the development of auditory and visual perception, the development of attention, memory, and thinking through the development of speech. The pace of learning is different for everyone, and it should correspond to the temperament, age, and level of intellectual development at the moment. In my experience, learning to read is more effective in the form of a game. The main thing is to be patient and praise even the smallest successes. Your support and approval will greatly stimulate the child's interest in reading and desire to learn quickly and competently.