Early Childhood Literacy
For Babies and Toddlers

Factors of Early Childhood Literacy

As a child's first teacher, parents serve as the earliest and one of the most key factors of success in how early literacy develops. From day one, the types and frequency of language a child is exposed to plays a vital roll in how their later development will play out.

There are a few major contributing factors to early childhood literacy in the home. The Reading Foundation, and many other expert sources, recommends twenty minutes of reading together a day. It doesn't have to be all at once. Little attention spans may do better with five to ten minute segments, and that's just fine. Follow your child's lead and just enjoy your time together with books.

Choose great books that will engage your child's interest. Look for bright colors, "lift the flap" books, books with tactile illustrations (such as a fluffy dog or scratchy box that the child can touch). Books with simple rhymes are a great idea, as exposing children to auditory rhyming contributes to later phonemic awareness, a major building block for actual reading.

A second significant contributor to early childhood literacy has nothing at all to do with books! It does, however, have everything to do with language, specifically auditory language. In the book Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children, authors Betty M. Hart and Todd R. Risley explain how their research has shown that the most important aspect of children's language experience is quantity. Children who hear a great deal of spoken language in the home statistically have a much larger and sophisticated vocabulary than their peers who are exposed to less talk.

You are your child's first teacher. Reading AND Talking to your child paves the way for successful early literacy in very powerful ways!

So, talk to your child! A lot. Chat about what you are doing as you change your infant, buckle up in a car seat, drive around, etc. Observe that the sky is blue and that tree is green. Anything, really! A running narration of your day, even when the child cannot talk back, sets an early stage for success. As your child gets older and can respond with words, begin asking questions, playing little "I spy" games as you go about your day, etc. A language rich environment paves the way for successful early childhood literacy in very powerful ways.

Finally, consider using some American Sign Language with your baby and toddler. As co-creator of the nationally award winning Signing Time program, Rachel Coleman says, "Babies crawl before they walk and sign before they can talk!" Babies can start to sign simple vocabulary words, such as "MILK" or "MORE" long before they can say the words. Sign language contributes to language development because it is language. In her book, Dancing with Words: Signing for Hearing Children's Literacy, Dr. Marylin Daniels explains how her studies have shown that children who sign often have larger vocabularies. The quality and quantity of a child's vocabulary later contributes to reading success. Sign language can be a fun and exciting way to tap into communication with your child, all while contributing to their early childhood literacy in a very effective way.