The Importance of Reading

Why is reading important?  Reading is important, because it is difficult to function in society if one is illiterate.  Of course you wouldn't be reading this blog post if you were illiterate.  Everything in school stems on the ability of a child to be able to read.  If a child cannot read on grade level, then he or she falls behind.  In some cases not being able to read above grade level, when reading a science textbook, can actually cause problems.

Can parents help this process?  Yes.  Read to your child at an early age.  Develop an attachment to books in the child.  Make reading a cozy happy time.  Make it a rewarding time.

Can young children read?  Yes.  I have seen plenty of young children read.  They read cereal boxes and other sight words.  Sometimes they read their own books.  This, however, may be imitation, but that's not bad either.  There is nothing wrong in encouraging young children to read sight words.  The decoding or sounding out can come later...especially if you are uncomfortable with teaching letter sounds and letter combination sounds.

I encourage you to allow children to learn sight words at an early age.  It can only help.  Click here to discover a fun game to play with children.