Why Teach Babies to Read So Early?

1. » Introduction
2. » Why teach babies to read so early?
3. » Myths of early learning
4. » Teaching your baby to read (flashcards)
5. » Teaching your baby to read (multi-sensory)
6. » Felicity's mother's experience

“Poor kid! Just let them have fun!” Some people say that they refuse to 'torture' their children and force them to read at such a young age, especially since this is the only time a child can really play and have fun before being subjected to the rigors of schooling.

We would agree with one thing – it is not advisable to 'force' young children to learn, especially during the early ages. However, the rest of that statement reflects a commonly-held misconception that babies do not enjoy learning activities such as reading (see Myths of Early Learning). The truth is, babies absolutely LOVE to learn! So long as the baby is not forced to learn to read when she doesn’t want to, exposing her to learning words will foster in her a long-term love of reading.

The pre-school years are actually the best time for teaching children invaluable skills such as reading. Firstly, they love to learn and their brains are like sponges, soaking up whatever you show them. This is especially evident the younger and more immobile they are and have less distracting things to do. To them, learning the sound and meaning of words is no less interesting than learning that the furry animal in the house is called a dog. Once the child reaches school age, he will have many more distractions to contend with, either alone such as video games or in groups with his school friends.

Secondly, with the basic skills of reading acquired at an early age, a child will find learning to read in school a breeze, and the entire education process will be hardly as 'tortuous' for them compared to those who now have to force themselves to listen to the teacher against the myriad of distractions around them. What is more, for those with poor reading skills, learning other subjects which require the skill of reading will be much more difficult for them and so it's not too surprising that they often become discouraged, de-motivated, and associate the entire schooling system with ‘pain.’

On the other hand, children who acquire reading skills early (and willingly!) are much more likely to enjoy school and have a more positive outlook towards learning. Furthermore, children who who are taught to read in schools do so using rules (such as phonics). Infants on the other hand are able to figure out the rules and patterns for themselves given sufficient exposure, which is a far more natural way of learning. Learning patterns become increasingly more difficult the older they get.

Lastly, let us remember the fundamental reason why early learning is so important. Whether you are teaching your child reading or anything else, such learning has the effect of stimulating your child’s brain to better-develop the neural circuitry and hence improve the overall intelligence of the child during the very critical early-years learning window.

1. » Introduction
2. » Why teach babies to read so early?
3. » Myths of early learning
4. » Teaching your baby to read (flashcards)
5. » Teaching your baby to read (multi-sensory)
6. » Felicity's mother's experience