How to Get Your Pre-School Child off to Flying Start with Reading by Wayne Gillie

Many children today are arriving at school without any understanding of the basics of reading. Books are totally foreign to them, and they don't know anything about the purpose of those funny marks on the page (we call them letters!).

Thankfully there are a lot of highly effective teachers in schools who are able to take these children and develop them as competent readers, but some children take a long time to grasp these foundational literacy skills and in a classroom they may fail to understand the things that they need to know.

Once a child gets behind in learning to read, it can be very difficult to catch up, as they start to believe that they are simply not clever enough to be able to learn how. This negative self-belief can become like a self-fulfilling prophecy:

* They believe that they are not clever.

* They think it's too hard.

* Their thinking drives their actions.

* They don't do what they should do that will help them learn, and typically end up misbehaving.

This can unfortunately lead to a devastating loss of confidence in all areas of life. Literacy is key to all learning, and it is so much better to be ahead than behind.

Thankfully there is something that all parents can do that is guaranteed to get their preschool children off to a flying start with literacy. It is so simple, it needn't cost any money, and you can do it in around 10 minutes a day. Surely it's worth the effort though if you're going to help your children get off to the best start when they get to school?

All you need to do is regularly read to your child.

Today there is a huge array of interesting and well-illustrated children's picture books that may be borrowed from public libraries. Aim to read one book a day to your child. It is often best to make this a part of your regular routine, and for many families just before bedtime is the best. Your child will love this time with you, and it will help build a strong bond of love and trust.

You can do it! You could start today!

Look for a companion article entitled "7 Tips on How to Make The Most of Your Child's Reading Time" for ideas how to make the most of your time together.

About the Author
Wayne and Jenny Gillie are parents and school teachers, and have established http://www.buildkidsconfidence.com/ as a resource for parents and teachers who want to improve the self confidence of their children or students