How to Know When Your Child is Ready to Read

Every child learns how to read at their own pace. There is no specific age or time when your child will be able to pick up a book and understand the words. This is precisely why it’s important to work toward reading milestones and pay close attention to how well your child understands the concepts of reading and language.

Here are four milestones that indicate reading readiness in children:

1. Recognizing letters in a variety of fonts and colors
Sometimes, letters look like pictures. For example, large, colorful letters on a cereal box might just look like a picture to a little one who isn’t ready to read. However, a toddler displays reading readiness if they understand that these are, in fact, letters that make up a word.

2. They have mastered the alphabet
A child who is ready to start reading can recite the alphabet from memory, determine which letters are which, and make sounds for each letter.

3. They have a brief understanding of speech conventions
Children who are ready to read will have a general understanding of rhyming (they know that “cat” and “pat” rhyme), alliteration (they know that the phrase “She sells seashells by the sea shore” has similar S sounds), and syllables (they can clap along with the syllables in words).

4. They can break down the separate sounds in a word
Breaking a word down into separate sounds is a skill possessed by children who are ready to read. For example, if your child can break apart the word “shirt” into “SH-IR-T,” they prove that they understand how written words sound when they are spoken out loud.

Learning to Read at Imagine
Imagine Early Education & Childcare encourages children to think critically, solve problems, and apply skills and concepts in real-world situations. Our educators are dedicated to providing your child with the skills they need for success in Kindergarten, the rest of their schooling, and far beyond. Contact us today for a tour of our education center.