First of all one may ask why is early literacy so important?

 Research has shown that early literacy is directly linked academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates, reduced delinquency rates and enhanced productivity in adult life . This means a child who is literate early has better chances at succeeding in life.

This stems from the fact that the aspects of a child’s development needed to thrive especially in an academic setting  are inter connected . These aspects of a child’s development are Language and literacy development , Social and emotional development, Cognition, general knowledge and physical well-being.

Here are just a few benefits associated with childhood reading

 1.     Studies have shown that early reading aids brain development

2.     Research has shown that the attitudes we develop about reading and learning as children will carry over into our school-aged and adult lives. In other words a child who loves to read early will also love to learn and will find it easier to excel academically!

3.     A child who’s reading and love for literacy is influenced by a parent will form a healthy bond with that parent over their common love for readings

4.     Early readers learn to communicate more effectively and efficiently According to E. CE Miller “ Reading teaches children to ask questions, wait for answers, and explore events and information from a variety of perspectives.”

5.     Reading aloud to a child has been shown  to promote children’s language, literacy and cognitive development; Mol & Bus, 2011[1]

While doing research I found that most people who developed early literacy skills were influenced by their parents. However, where the parents were illiterate or not readers good school literacy programs and policies also helped.

Almost 70 % of the respondents I interviewed said that their parents reading habits influenced their early literacy skills.

Some of their answers were;

“ My mom read a lot so I emulated her”

“Apart from newspapers they didn’t particularly read a lot so no, their habits didn’t encourage me to read”

“My mom was an English teacher. She made us read and review books, so we started reading early”

“Seeing older members of the family reading encouraged me to do so”

“I didn’t notice if they had any reading habits, I just read because I enjoyed reading”

“My parents read often so I followed suit”

“My mum was an educator and my mum a philosopher, there were books everywhere”

“My dad was an avid reader so seeing him read influenced me to do same”’

“ My parents didn’t influence my interest in reading as they were not big readers”

“ My father was my role model from an early age , seeing him read made me want to read”

The respondents all all members of a reading club and opined that being part of a book club (which is a reading program) had made them read more as the rules of the club force them to read a new book every month which has been so beneficial to them even as adults. Their intellect, social network and all round knowledge base has increased as a result of being part of this program.

 Some of the responses recorded by our respondents include;

·      Luckily my boys love to read so seeing me read is an extra motivation for them

·      They read more because they see my read

·      Yes, it has ..story telling , building on imagination, critical thinking. Connection, point of reference for conversation.

·      Yes, I read and they read and always want to discuss with me what they read

·      Yes it has, my children have always have books as I buy every time I go to shop. We enjoy exploring characters and new words together

·      Yep, my toddler is always grabbing books to “read”even though he cannot read yet

·      Not really as they use “technology” to read which to me is not real reading

·      Yes , they read a lot as there are book all over the house

·      Yes we talk about the books we read .It’s a good bonding activity and gives me a chance to correct them

 So based on the above do parents habits impact children’s literacy?

From the foregoing the answer is a clear yes!  According to Farida Ladipo- Ajayi  who runs a book club in Nigeria, Parents are able to influence their children’s reading habits positively by reading to them, modelling reading, showing interest in how a child learns to read, getting them books as well as limiting screen time. The evidence is overwhelming and there is definitely a significant role for parents in raising readers . For example  reading to a young child has been shown  to increase their  reading and other cognitive skills significantly up till the age of 11 and has been described by an Australian study [2]as “ an early-life intervention that seems to be beneficial for the rest of their lives.”

 Which Parent? Mum , Dad or Both

While traditionally the role of primary care giver and therefore bed time story reader and teacher is the mother things are changing.  This is thanks to an increase of women working full time, more single parent homes and fluidity in gender role. While in the past studies on parental impact in such areas were restricted to maternal impact nowadays more than ever we see more involvement of men in their child’s early development. In fact according to Shannon et al (2002)[3] fathers rather than just being seen as breadwinners or head of the family are getting more hands on with the children and participate in more child-related activities such as reading with their children. Therefore it is safe to say that both parents reading habits impact children. The survey I carried out on parents above also lend credence to this as it shows that people were impacted by both their mothers and fathers  even where the father didn’t spend as much time with the child.

Infact, in one study referred to by Duursuma (2014) [4]it was shown that though mothers read more frequently to their toddlers than fathers Paternal bookreading at 24 and 36 months significantly predicted children's language and cognitive skills at age 36 months as well as their book knowledge at preK while  Maternal book reading was only a significant predictor of child cognitive skills at 36 months.

Therefore any of the parents can be positive role models in guiding their children to score early literacy goals.

 Impact that last’s for life

 The truth is  as the above examples a parents impact on their child’s  literacy impacts a child’s life well into adulthood. As has been mentioned earlier children who read early are more likely to make a success out of their life. I will give the practical example of Irene Ugbah[5] a Nigerian school owner, gender activist, NGO founder and author. She shared the following in her book “Unstoppable”.

“… she planned how I would marry and live close to her and her (other) grandchildren. While she planned all these, I inwardly repelled them. As an avid reader, I had read a lot of books back then in Lagos including some of the ones in the Famous Five and Ladybird series and I craved for the adventures I read in those books. My grandmother’s plan certainly didn’t sound or look likes those adventures. For the ‘dark’ years I stayed in the village, the early literacy skillsI had acquired kept my memories alive and gave me hope. I kept fantasizing of a future where I would be so educated, talking to people, traveling with a great family.”

 Her father  bought her loads of children’s books and all she envisioned from those stories led her to surmise that the rural life where she would probably end up a a young bride to the local palmwine tapper was not one for her. The above shows the impact of early literacy.

 Literacy development starts early in life and is highly correlated with school achievement.

All of the domains of a child's development —physical, social-emotional, cognitive, language and literacy—are interrelated and interdependent.

The more limited a child's experiences with language and literacy the more likely he or she will have difficulty learning to read.

Key early literacy predictors of reading and school success include oral language, Alphabetic Code, and print knowledge.

According to Strickland and Riley-Ayers (2006)

The following is necessary for children to acquire literacy skills

•          All children should have access to early childhood programs with strong literacy components that include clear adaptations for children with special needs.

•          Parent involvement programs should have a strong early literacy component that guides parents and caregivers in providing early literacy experiences at home.

Early literacy curricula and teaching practices should be evidence-based, integrated with all domains of learning, and understandable to staff members.

Early literacy assessment should use multiple methods and use the information to improve both teaching and the total preschool program.

Standards for early childhood professionals should require staff to meet early literacy instructional standards.

Support for English Language Learners should be specified and provided in both the home language and English where feasible.

 What then do I recommend?

·      Parents should spend reasonable time reading to their children should have a strong early literacy component that guides parents and caregivers in providing early literacy experiences at home.( Early Literacy_ Policy and Practice in the Preschool Years _ Reading Rockets)

·      Children should have access to early literacy  programs

·      Children should have access to books as early as possible ,

·      Children should learn why reading and writing is so important at an early age.

·      Introduce children to relatable books as well

·      Standards for early childhood professionals should require staff to meet early literacy instructional standards.

All children should have access to early childhood programs with strong literacy components that include clear adaptations for children with special needs.

Early literacy curricula and teaching practices should be evidence-based, integrated with all domains of learning, and understandable to staff members.

Early literacy standards should be established that articulate with K-12 programs and reflect consistency and continuity with overall program goals.

Early literacy assessment should use multiple methods and use the information to improve both teaching and the total preschool program.

Standards for early childhood professionals should require staff to meet early literacy instructional standards.

Parent involvement programs should have a strong early literacy component that guides parents and caregivers in providing early literacy experiences at home.

Support for English Language Learners should be specified and provided in both the home language and English where feasible.

[1] Mol, S.E., & Bus, A.G. (2011). To read or not to read: A meta-analysis of print exposure from infancy to early adulthood. Psychological Bulletin, 137(2), 267-296.

[2] Reading to young children: a head-start in life, authored by: G. Kalb and J.C. van Ours.

[3]Shannon, J.D., Tamis-LeMonda, C.S., London, K. and Cabrera, N., 2002. Beyond rough and tumble: Low-income fathers' interactions and children's cognitive development at 24 months. Parenting: Science and practice, 2(2), pp.77-104.

[4] The effects of fathers' and mothers' reading to their children on language outcomes of children participating in early head start in the United States

[5] Unstoppable by Irene Ugbah