Reading to the child

It is advisable for parents to read to their children at preschool and early primary levels. When they read to a child from story books, comic strips of the better type, and children’s magazines, he becomes aware that books, magazines, and newspapers hold something of interest and amusement for him. He also comes to realize that this “something” which he enjoys is tightly locked within black and white symbols, and that these symbols can be unlocked only when one knows how to read. This awareness and interest form a springboard from which he can leap into learning to read in school, and into the voluntary reading of self-selected books. Parents, however, should not continue reading to their child year after year as he passes through the elementary grades. If the child can only get his reading pleasure through his parents’ efforts, he may not have much incentive for doing the reading himself. Parents should decrease their reading to the child as he learns to read and put him on his own as soon as possible.