"Do's & Don'ts" for encouraging early childhood literacy

Do:

• Read to you children every day, starting from birth

• Talk to your babies from day one, making the most of one-on-one time

• Encourage them to "read" books themselves as soon as they can hold them

• Make family trips to the library a regular habit

• Encourage children to "write" about their experiences/interests or dictate their stories to you; and

• Ask lots of questions when you are reading with your child.

Don't:

• Put off reading to your baby, even though you're tired

• Wait until the child is old enough to converse to talk with them

• Forget to buy books – they're as fun to pass along as they are to read

• Let young children spend more time with TV and computers than they do interacting with people; and

• Get discouraged if children don't always want to read – look for ways to tie reading to their particular interests and keep reading to them!

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