Five Things I Learned About Teaching Babies to Read

I am sure there are more than five things I learned while teaching my babies to read, but here are the top 5 things I learned.

Video was my tireless helper when it came to teaching my babies to read. – I started out on this journey by allowing my babies to watch video DVDs designed to teach babies to read. Each morning, after a meal, my baby would watch 30 minutes of television that was teaching them to read. Sometimes we used these twice a day, depending on how much I needed to get done. These videos are wonderful for teaching babies to read. I was confident that my child was viewing something that was going to have a tremendous impact on their life. Wouldn’t you say reading before the age of one can change a child’s life for the better?

Build gradually to using other materials. – We began with videos. Once we were in the groove of viewing those for about a month we began to use other materials. I would show my baby some flash cards after a diaper change a few times a day. This required a minute or so of my time, but quickly became a cherished time for my baby and for me. We would sneak away from the chaos of the house and spend a moment reading together.

Start as early as possible. – A baby can begin learning to read at 3 months old. The earlier you begin the better. Since a 3 month old is not very active physically, this is the perfect time to begin teaching your baby to read. They are a captive audience and really enjoy reading words. Their amazing brain development allows them to learn quickly, helping to build a solid reading vocabulary before they are a year old. Babies that learn early will never know a time when they couldn’t read.

Know when to teach and when to take a break. – Sometimes life gets crazy and these are perfect times to take a break from teaching your baby to read. You should only participate in the activities your baby really enjoys and you should both be in a good mood. If teaching your baby is just another chore for you, your baby will sense that and won’t enjoy your sessions. Only teach when you are both in a receptive mood.

Once you get in a groove, you will see opportunities everywhere for teaching your baby to read. – Getting into a groove with your program is a wonderful thing. You may be showing your baby a video each day and enjoying some flash cards. Now you notice that you can play with letters and words throughout the day as word play with alphabet blocks, foam letters, and magnetic letters. You can point out words to your baby as you go about your day. When you reach this point, there is no specific time that you teach your baby to read. You simply show your baby that words are everywhere and they can learn read them.