Can babies really learn to read?

Yes… babies can really learn to read!  My baby began to read words when he was just 20 months old. 

Of course vocabulary development was of extreme importance in our home, since I am a teacher of young children, I know the benefits.  I also used Dr. Titzer’s video program titled, Your Baby Can Read.  It was the supplemental resource I needed to boost my child’s vocabulary beyond what I was already doing with the learning plans.

How did I know he could read?  Well, he was in the bath with one of his bathtub (plastic) books and he pointed to the word bubble and said, “Bubble.”  I was, myself, amazed at this because all I had ever done with that book was read it while he was playing in the tub.  Therefore, I turned the page and pointed to the word bubble again and sure enough, he read “bubble.”  Before I started calling the neighbors, friends and family I had to test him even more.  I pointed to the word “toes” and he read it! I pointed to the word “bath” and he read it!  I hadn’t heard him read a single word before this day and on this day he read over 30 different words to me around the house.  My 20 months of developing vocabulary had paid off!  I called everyone and now at age four, he reads as well as a second grade student.  The sweet irony here:  my husband is extremely dyslexic and this gene runs strong in his family.  My husband struggles to this day to read and write and now… because I started early, my child will not have to suffer this frustrating disorder.

Ask any teacher or educational researcher what the best predictor of learning to read is and they will tell you - a child’s knowledge of vocabulary. Your child’s receptive vocabulary is the mental storehouse of words he recognizes when listening to others speak. His expressive vocabulary is the bank of words he can say, read and write with accuracy.

Expressive and receptive vocabulary growth involves skills in four interrelated areas: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The greatest opportunity to build strong language and vocabulary skills is in the first five years of life. Your baby’s brain is primed for acquiring language. Early education is the key - To accelerate your little one’s vocabulary and literacy development.

1. Talk with your child
2. As he grows older, engage him in conversations
3. Read aloud to him every day
4. Teach him songs and rhymes
5. Introduce new words through our Vocabulary word cards or infant/toddler flashcards

Fortunately, it is not hard to provide rich opportunities your little one needs to acquire language and the building blocks of literacy. It does, however, require being intentional about what you do every day, all day. The building blocks for language and literacy include experiences that will enable him to acquire vocabulary and language, hear the different sounds and rhythms of language, enjoy books and stories, and explore writing. As I always say, the more time and energy you devote to proactive parenting and teaching in the early years… the less reactive measures (tutoring, discipline, etc…) you will face in the later years.

Tracey Bryant Stuckey

Chief Creative Learning Officer

www.wigglegigglelearn.com