Dear parents,

It is never too early to read to your child and never too late to teach a child to read.  I’ve helped over three hundred children read in the last eighteen months using different programs.

It is a skill that not only helps our geniuses learn about the world around them but the foundation of success in academia.  Whether your genius becomes a farmer, doctor, mechanic, or entrepreneur, reading and writing ensure you get to those dreams. No one is born with these skills, we must all learn to crawl, talk, and read.

Your child’s love of reading can start any time.  You can start as early as the crib or even during pregnancy.  Reading for babies should have simple, repetitive, familiar text and clear pictures.  Hearing your voice is one of the first things babies recognise.  You can read almost anything to babies as young as 4 months old.   This increases the chances that parents will continue to read to them as they get older and encourage them to love stories.

When I say geniuses, I mean all children.  It is how I address children in my reading programs. I believe every child is a genius, they just come in different forms and it is up to us, parents to find out where their geniuses are.  Not everyone is meant to be a professor or academic, some children’s genius fall in sports, music, art, numbers or simply great memory.

Reading and storytelling can:

•             help your child get to know sounds, words and language, and develop early literacy skills

•             introduce your child to the value of books and stories

•             spark your child’s imagination and curiosity

•             promote your child’s brain development and ability to focus and concentrate

•             help your child build social, communication and emotional skills

•             help your child learn about the world, their own culture and other cultures (Raising Children Network, 2023).

The special time we spend reading together promotes bonding and builds our relationship with our children.    Reading isn’t the only way to help with our child’s language and literacy development. Telling stories, singing songs and saying rhymes together are also great activities for early literacy skills, so reading isn’t the only path to helping your child’s language and literacy development.   I know many children who like these activities more than reading sometimes.  

Young geniuses like to make up their own stories.  They learn many words during word games, puzzles and engaging activities.   Children will learn words and develop language skills from songs, stories and conversations we share.   While we enjoy another Sunday Samoa, remember, that every child learns to read in a different way and at his or her speed.  You can help your young reader improve and become more confident by encouraging her or her interests and abilities.  Feel free to contact me if you want to enroll your child in our reading programs.

Enid Westerlund is a regular columnist for this newspaper. She is an aviation specialist, business consultant, author and loves teaching children to read on the weekend.