Can infants and toddlers develop reading skills before they can form letters?

Reading begins to develop before babies and toddlers can form letters, and the foundation is laid through a variety of experiences and observations during the reading readiness stage. Parents and teachers can encourage positive reading development by providing children with a rich reading environment and a variety of stimuli. This process has important implications for later reading skills and academic achievement.

 

It is often assumed that reading, unlike listening and speaking, begins when infants and toddlers begin to break letters, but most reading development research suggests that reading development occurs before then. These studies hierarchize the stages of reading development based on characteristics of reading behavior and level of comprehension of text. They typically identify “reading readiness” as one stage, followed by “learning letters and reading aloud,” “reading with meaning,” “reading for learning purposes,” “reading from multiple perspectives,” and “reading to reconstruct meaning. An understanding of the stages of reading development guides instruction in the classroom and plays an important role in systematically improving children’s reading skills. Reading is more than just recognizing and pronouncing letters; it is a comprehensive process of understanding the meaning of a text, critically analyzing it, and acquiring new knowledge.
The reading readiness stage is a crucial time when the foundation of reading is formed. Infants and toddlers are familiar with the shapes of letters, even if they can’t form them, and they have a vague idea of the correspondence between letters and sounds. These experiences provide an important foundation for children’s understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds. Parents and teachers can help build interest and excitement about reading by showing children different letter shapes and connecting them to sounds. This is also a great time to promote cognitive development through a variety of visual stimuli, including numbers, colors, and shapes, not just letters. In the process, they have meaningful experiences that teach them that letters have meaning and are represented by speech.
These studies show that during the reading readiness stage, infants and toddlers’ reading development is driven by observing others reading and gaining a variety of experiences with letters. By watching others read, infants and toddlers learn to recognize the beginning of a sentence, the direction in which letters are read, and how pages are turned. They also memorize and imitate the reader’s facial expressions and gestures. This imitative behavior helps children feel the joy of reading and develop a positive attitude toward reading. In addition, the information and knowledge gained through reading helps children develop an understanding and curiosity about the world. Each area of communication-listening, speaking, reading, and writing-influences the other and develops together. Examples include babies and toddlers who don’t know their letters mumbling and pretending to read as they flip through a book, listening to a book read to them and repeating it back to them, using words or phrases they hear to form sentences, and scribbling pictures or letters as they listen to someone read to them. These activities have a positive impact on the overall language development of infants and toddlers and lay the foundation for reading skills.
Reading development doesn’t happen in a spur of the moment, but rather gradually, starting before children can form letters. This means that children need plenty of time and a variety of experiences to recognize and understand letters. Parents and teachers need to support and encourage reading activities in a variety of ways to keep children interested. Therefore, natural guidance during this period of life, such as frequent reading and asking for their thoughts, helps to ensure that each area of communication develops together. It is also important to provide a variety of reading materials so that children are exposed to different types of texts. Picture books, storybooks, nursery rhymes, and other materials expose children to a variety of vocabulary and sentence structures, which leads to improved reading skills. Experiences during the pre-reading stage have a significant impact on later stages, so the more positive and enriching the experiences during this time, the more active and confident children will be in later reading activities.
Reading development is not just a part of learning, but an important means by which children make sense of the world and acquire a variety of information. Therefore, improving reading skills is directly related to overall academic achievement. For example, the vocabulary acquired through reading affects writing and speaking skills, and it also plays an important role in developing logical thinking and problem-solving skills. For these reasons, ongoing attention and support for reading development is essential for children’s overall growth and development.
In conclusion, infants and toddlers’ reading development begins long before they can break letters, and a variety of experiences and environments play a large role in its development. Parents and teachers should provide children with rich and varied reading experiences to foster positive attitudes and interest in reading. This will help children enjoy reading, which in turn will help them succeed in many areas of learning and life.