IMPROVING YOUR CHILD'S LITERACY SKILLS

Literacy is a major component of your child's cognitive development. Following these guidelines will give you the tools to coach your little one all the way from learning the ABCs to writing their own masterpieces!

Strong written and verbal communication skills are an absolute must for our children to navigate the modern world easily. There’s no need to worry however, there are plenty of different ways to encourage children to develop these skills. Also, every child is unique and therefore grows and learns at their own rate. So there’s no need to panic if your child isn’t the first in their class to start reading! Anywhere between the ages of four and nine is considered usual. If you do have any concerns, reach out to your little one’s doctor for guidance and any resources that may help.

YOUNG CHILDREN

Research suggests that the majority of parents overestimate the amount of time after birth that their little bundle of joy will be ready to begin developing literacy skills. The truth is that babies are absorbing information from the moment of birth, and so we should be communicating directly from the very start! Here are a few tips to help your child to start reading and writing:

Chat with your child

Many parents don’t speak directly to their young babies as they think that, just because they’re not responding, they’re not listening. Though it will result in many one-sided conversations, try to chat to your child as often as possible. Simple things like saying ‘Hello!’ or pointing out and naming objects is a great place to start. Believe it or not, your baby is taking all of this on and learning from a very young age. With toddlers, include them in conversation and ask them plenty of questions. This enables children to learn to express themselves while also showing that they’re an equally important member of the family!

Listen and learn