Reading is imperative to children's future learning experiences. They must read to learn new subjects and skills.
Family risk factors include having parents with reading disabilities or who do not interact verbally with children, lack of English spoken in the home and single-parent households. These factors do not assure a child will be a poor reader, but they increase the chance.
Parents should help their children develop the following skills prior to their children starting school: identifying the names of letters and the sounds they represent, writing their own name and naming colors and objects.
Early activities that help with children learn these skills include reading books and poems to children, singing songs, playing word games and teaching children to follow simple step-by-step instructions.
Many educational programs address early childhood reading, including centers such as those run by the National Head Start Association. Find more resources through your local schools. See the resource link also.