Step #3 Attention Parents and Caregivers! Can Toddlers Really Learn How to Read?

These various sources provide insights into the question of whether toddlers can learn to read and offer guidance on when and how to introduce reading skills to young children.

Estimated time to complete this step: 31 minutes

Toddlers Can Read

Spencer Russell is an award-winning educator and founder of Toddlers Can Read, a phonics program aimed at parents and caregivers of young children. He is passionate about promoting early childhood reading and offers step-by-step guidance for teaching children to read, starting as early as 18 months old. Spencer Russell’s program focuses on making the learning process fun and engaging.

Video:
The Easiest Way to Teach Any Child to Read
Spencer Russell

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Video:
How to Start Teaching Your Toddler to Read
Spencer Russell

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Children Learning Reading

Jim Yang, another enthusiastic father, has also created childrenlearningreading.net, featuring impressive videos of his own child sounding out words before the age of three. These programs showcase the dedication of parents and educators in fostering early literacy skills in young children.

Video:
Reading Teacher Reveals the Proven Method That Enables Any Parent To Easily Teach Their Child To Read, Succeed, and Get Ahead!\
Jim Yang

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Don’t Rush Reading

Though this may work for some toddlers, many children need more time to mature, and playtime should not be compromised. Some children are simply not developmentally ready or interested in learning to read until age 5 or 6 or later. That’s OK! Don’t rush it! They have their whole lives ahead of them and many parents are already overloaded. Recall the Simple View of Reading. Young children may learn how to decode but without the oral language skills and background knowledge to back it up, they will not comprehend what they are “reading.” However, if parents and caregivers think their children are developmentally ready and would experience learning to read as a fun family bonding activity, then they might want to give it a try.

These programs also advertise that they are useful for older school age children who are having trouble learning to read. I have no personal experience with them besides what I gleaned from some research on the internet. They look entertaining and in line with a synthetic phonics approach. There’s also good old Hooked on Phonics, developed by the dad of a struggling reader, which some parents swear by.

Step #1: The Big Picture

Step #2: Understand How Reading Works

Step #3: Toddlers and Reading

Step #4: Learning About Speech to Print

Step #5: Decodable Text

Step #6: What NOT to Do for Initial Reading Instruction

Step #7: Handwriting & Reading

Step #8: How English Works

Step #9: English Language Varieties

Step #10: For Extra Credit

Go to Step 4