As you may be well aware, reading is one of the most important skills one must master to succeed in life. Reading is involved in almost all aspects of our lives and print is everywhere you look. It could be reading road signs, posters, billboards, books, magazines, restaurant menus, warning labels, product labels, and so much more. The lack of reading skills will lead to difficulties acquiring new skills and limiting advancement in life. While reading is so important, it’s unfortunate that in the developed English speaking countries, there is a large population of functionally illiterate adults. For example, over 30 million adults in the US are considered functionally illiterate.

Reading problems is even more of a problem for younger children. In an on-going survey conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), over 67% of grade 4 children cannot read proficiently, and of that, 34% can’t even achieve the most basic levels of reading ability.

Why are our children performing so poorly when it comes to reading, which is arguably one of the most important skills we need to succeed!

This could be caused by several reasons. Many teachers are not knowledgeable about teaching the fundamentals of the English language (Joshi RM et al.); many schools still use the whole language method of learning to read to teach; many children lack early exposure to print, reading, and lack general phonemic awareness skills. These are just a few of the many possibilities.

So what can you do to teach your child to read so that you kids will not struggle with reading?

The most important thing is to start EARLY! Start reading to your child at an early age. Reading to your child helps them develop print awareness, it helps them develop and grow their vocabulary, and it sets a solid foundation upon which you can begin early reading lessons. Did you know that children’s books contain almost twice as many rare words than the adult conversation of college graduates?! Through shot and fun daily reading sessions, you will help your child build up their vocabulary, and help enhance their language and literacy skills.

You might ask: “When is a good time to start teaching my child to read?”

Would you believe me if I told you that children as young as two years old can be taught to read effectively, if you use the right tools, techniques, and methods? In fact, we taught all of our children to read at just age two. The key here, is to help the young child develop phonemic awareness, and learn through a simple, step-by-step learning to read system. The lessons need to be brief, yet very simple, such that very young children can learn to read using it. The lessons also need to be sequential and logical such that it helps the child build a solid foundation in developing reading skills. Would you like to help your child get the best start in life by mastering one of the most important skills in life? We have the perfect solution for you.