The Language and Literacy Experiences Children Need

A child’s foundation for reading and writing begins at birth. At each stage of development, children need their parents to interact with them so they can develop their language and literacy skills.

Babies need you to …

Talk to them so they can hear the sound of your voice.

Read them stories and poems.

Name objects and people in books for them.

Hold them in your lap as you look at family photos and books together.

Let them pat, chew, hold, or bang a board book, while enjoying the sound of your voice.

Hold a high-contrast (black-and-white) picture book about 12 inches away from their eyes when they are very young and give them colorful books to look at by the time they are six months old.

Toddlers need you to …

Point out signs and symbols in the world around them.

Answer their “why” questions.

Encourage them to repeat familiar words and rhymes.

Let them turn a book’s pages.

Read the same book to them over and over again.

Preschoolers need you to …

Help them make sense of print and put it to use.

Talk about the details in a book.

Encourage them to predict what will happen next in a story.

Help them relate what happens in a book to their own lives.

Show them how to write their names.

Record their stories.