Early Beginnings: Getting a head start on reading with your infant or toddler
- Stepping Stone Scholars
- Jan 13, 2019
- 4 min read
Did you know that the greatest amount of brain growth occurs between birth and age five? And that by age three your child’s brain will be 80 percent of its adult size?
Language, Literacy, and The Brain
In the first three years, infants and toddlers begin acquiring the first of thousands of words they will use throughout their lives. Simultaneously, children are learning the rules of grammar as well as absorbing the social conventions that exist around communication in their community. Im, J., Osborn, C., Sánchez, S. and Thorp, E. (in press). Cradling Literacy: Building Teachers’ Skills to Nurture Early Language and Literacy Birth to Five. Washington, DC: ZERO TO THREE.
While good early experiences help the brain develop well, poor experiences can literally cause a genetically normal child to have a lower I.Q. Scientific evidence shows that maltreated children who receive little stimulation – children who are exposed to fewer colors, less touch, little interaction with adults, fewer sights and sounds, and less language – actually have smaller brains. De Bellis, M.D., Keshaven, M.S., Clark,D.B., Caseey, B.J., Giedd, J.B., Boring,A.M., Frustaci, K., & Ryan, N.D. (1999).Developmental
traumatology.Part 2: Brain development. BiologicalPsychiatry, 45, 1271-1284.
Children’s academic successes at ages 9 and 10 can be attributed to the amount of talk they hear from birth through age 3. Hart and Risley, Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children.
At its heart, literacy is about communication, which begins long before a baby utters her first word. Babies are prewired to learn, communicate, and connect with others; they tell us what they need through their cries, facial expressions, sounds, and movements. Janice Im, Carol Osborn, Sylvia Sánchez, et al., Cradling Literacy: Building Teachers’ Skills to Nurture Early Language and Literacy from Birth to Five. Washington, DC: Zero to Three, 2007.
Benefits of Having a Head Start to Reading
Children who are read to at least three times a week by a family member are almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading compared to children who are read to less than 3 times a week. Denton, Kristen and Gerry West, Children’s Reading and Mathematics Achievement in Kindergarten and First Grade (PDF file), U.S. Department of Education, NCES, Washington, DC, 2002
Children who live in print-rich environments and who are read to during the first years of life are much more likely to learn to read on schedule. Southern Early Childhood Association, “Making Books Part of a Healthy Childhood.”
Teaching your child to read early and well has multiple benefits and is the key to your child's academic future. The main reason is that reading is at the heart of all formal education. Below are some of the many advantages of developing early reading ability in your child.
Neurological: Reading helps to develop a young child's brain. In the first six years, children learn at a much faster pace than at any other time in their lives.
Educational: Reading opens the door to your child's early academic success, imparts a love of learning and leads to higher grades in every subject.
Psychological: A child who learns to read joyfully at home, at an early age, with a loving parent or caregiver, grows in self-confidence and independence. In addition, early reading ignites the child's creativity and imagination.
Social: Even at a young age, children have social awareness. Such experiences increase the child's social status among peers as well as his or her self-image and self-confidence.
Linguistic: Children who can read independently and early have more opportunities to encounter the written word. The result? Improved linguistic skills in the form of a richer vocabulary, correct grammar, improved writing, better spelling and more articulate oral communication.
What Happens When Children Lack Early Language Exposure
Children from lower-income homes have limited access to books. Because of this, preschoolers from low-income families have fewer home and preschool language and literacy opportunities than children from economically advantaged backgrounds – a major reason that they lag behind in reading achievement throughout the school years. Berk, L. E. (2009) Child Development (8th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc
Children who aren’t reading at grade level by the end of third grade are four times as likely to drop out of high school. Donald J. Hernandez, Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation. The Annie E. Casey Foundation; Center
68% of fourth-graders in Georgia are not reading proficiently. Georgia Center for Nonprofits 2013
Educational Resources
Based off of the information provided above, exposing literacy to your child during the early phases of his or her life is crucial to their development later down the line. Parents have to be advocates for their children and expose them to enough opportunities that will help mold and guide them for success. Below I've provided a few additional resources that you can use to implement literacy in your home.
Reading Head Start- Early Literacy Program
Reading Rocket- How Most Children Learn to Read
20 Literacy Activities for Toddlers- Simple fun for kids
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