Give Your Child A Headstart

When I started reading real stories (not the goo-goo, ga-ga baby type) to my four month old baby, his poor nanny seemed to think I wasn't right in the head. He, on the other hand, loved being cuddled and read to. We had this cute little book about a turtle who wanted to change his shell and found that nothing fit quite right except his natural one. It was a longish poem that ended with the words: "sometimes what you look for is inside of you". I loved the message and we both loved the rhyme and rhythm of it, so pretty soon the covers were well worn.

That early start was crucial to his present reading success. Once he had mastered basic phonics (by about age three), he read stories with appropriate intonation and pauses, a skill that seemed to come naturally to him. He pretty much bypassed the phase of stilted reading that I like to call word-counting and I attribute this to his many months of regular story time.

My advice: read early, read interesting stories, read often and most of all, relax while you do so and enjoy that time of closeness with your child.