Communication starts early in life. This means that all those rhymes, and finger plays matter. Unfortunately, in our busy, multi-task lives, it’s common for the "Eentsey-weentsey spider" to be lost. Studies have shown infants as young as three months are communicating by "turn taking", initiating communication, and non-verbal "talking" with their caregivers. (As a mom, I’ve found that if my hands are occupied, I can use my voice to engage my child. You may already know this, especially if you have more than one child at home.)

Language is a learned code that enables us to communicate ideas and express our wants and needs. Before children can say words, they can understand simple language. If you say, "it’s time to go," does your not-yet-speaking child look, point, or go to the door? A pattern to learning can be found: understanding (receptive language) will generally occur before the child speaks words (expressive language). There is overlap in these skills as the ability to speak simple words reinforces further understanding which in turn enhances greater vocabulary and so on.

Exposure is key to learning a new language. So talk to your child. Talk
in a natural way. Avoid "baby talk." (I saved baby talk for when my kids
needed comforting or when we cuddled.) Talk about what you are doing, talk about what he or she is doing, talk about what you are seeing, how you are feeling. If you can’t think of what to say tell jokes, talk about your dreams, tell about your childhood. If your child is in a daycare setting, do the caregivers talk to your child?. Respond to sounds your child is making so he or she knows you are listening. Read stories together and ask the "wh" questions. A seasoned mom of a child with special needs told me that you have to exercise their brains and exercise them often. So ask: What? Where? When? Who? Why? Ask even if your child is non-verbal or doesn’t know the answers. One caution: TV is not a good substitute because it cannot respond to your child. It only offers one-way communication.

All of this is a good foundation to developing early literacy skills.  These are skills learned prior to being able to read and are needed in order to read. Does your child pretend to read? Does he or she "write" by making scribbles? These are examples of early literacy skills.  Children love to have their favorite books read over and over. This is good for them. It instills a love of reading and reinforces learning to read. (I once read Good-night Moon seventeen times in a row to my older son who is now eleven. I wanted to see just how many times he would ask to hear it in one sitting.) Fifteen minutes a day from age six months to six years equals 500 hours of reading exposure. That’s three times what a first grade teacher can provide with an hour of reading time a day.

It really makes a difference to read early and to read often to your child. Do you read the street signs to your child? Does your child recognize street signs? Store signs? Toy logos? Food logos? These early reading skills lead to more advanced reading skills later on. Keep books in the car or other places where kids may have to ‘wait.’ Toilet learning and books can fair well together. Some parents have found breakfast to be a good time to read to their child. A bedtime routine that involves books is a good way to build consistency into reading time. Visit libraries and bookstores to expose your child to a wide variety of books. Keep quality in mind. It used to be that getting books into children’s hands, any old book, was a good thing.  Experts no longer believe this to be the case. Look for age-appropriate, high quality, and if possible, award winning books. Look for books that reflect a multi-cultural, gender-fair world. Poetry, rhyme, repetition, predictable patterns, and song are all avenues to building skill in reading. Show your child how to open a book and to turn the pages one at a time. Point out the words and explain how the print is read from the top down and from left to right.

With children who are reluctant readers you need to make it fun for them. Look at what they like to do. Do they like building and being in forts? Make a "reading fort" and read about construction or camping. Tea parties? Ask friends to bring a book to read at a storybook tea party.  Stuffed toys make wonderful guests if playmates are not available. (My younger son has had cars and trucks come to his tea parties!) Kids who like crafts might like some of the "how to" books on the subject. In any case, adopt the attitude that you are "exploring" rather than "instructing".

Lastly, remember that children learn to speak and to read at different rates. Do not compare one child’s development with another’s. The important thing to watch is that the development proceeds, not whether it is fast or slow. Keep talking! Keep reading! When it comes to words, every little bit counts.