Parental involvement in children's early reading Literature review

Parental involvement in children's early reading - Literature review Example Reading adds numerous dimensions to an individual’s personality; hence parents want their children to get used to reading from a yong age itself. Invariably parents are found discussing the means and modalities to be adopted to make reading feel and look interesting, enjoyable and fun to their children. Parents look for reasons to convince their children about the fact that reading is a skill that is like a key to master their life. Quite often elders purposely pick up a magazine, newspaper or a book and start reading in front of their children sending positive signals to the children about the importance of reading. In fact it is noted that children who lag behind in their reading skills receive less reading practice (Allington, 1984), miss opportunities to develop reading comprehension techniques (Brown, 1986) and may acquire a negative notion about reading if they are presented with reading material that is advanced to their skills. However, the psychologists have researche d extensively on the development of reading habits of children, and found it evident that early reading habits developed in the child’s formative years (initial five years) have a lasting impact on his or her behavior (Beth M. Phillips, 2009). Research indicates that the concept of literacy as a skill set and knowledge base begins to develop during infancy and is continuously enriched during the early childhood phase by exposure to language, printed materials, and opportunities for experimental and instructional counters with literacy materials such as books, magazines, alphabet toys etc (Lonigan C. J., 2006), (naeyc, 2009), (Wagner, 1994). Particularly, literature shows that oral language, phonological responsiveness, and print knowledge are key components of a strong emergent literacy foundation (Whitehurst, 1998). A longitudinal study spanning 10 years conducted by Cunnigham and Stanovich reveals that reading habits developed in 1st grade by a child have considerable impac t in reading engagement when the he or she is in 11th grade (Anne E. Cunningham, 1997) hence noticing that early success at reading acquisition is the key to unlock a lifetime of reading habits. The role played by parental involvement and other experimental factors such as book surrounds, audio-visual aids of learning, socio-economical circumstances and culture in early development years of a child has been at the heart of much theorizing and research in development psychology and form an important part in cultivating reading habits in children from early years. (Cunningham, 1994); (Burgess S, 2002); (Daniel J. Weigel, 2006). This literature review studies the varied research available on a number of aspects related to infants/young children’s early reading fondness. The queries around which the literature review was conducted are: (i) The importance of parental involvement in children’s early reading and its affect on children’s reading attainment at school (ii ) Encouraging parents to read to their children at home (iii) The importance of bedtime stories and (iv) The importance of discussing vocabulary and illustrations with young children. The Importance of parental involvement in children’s early reading and its affect on children’s reading attainment at school The experiences, mindsets and resources related to literacy that a child encounters and interrelates with at home compose a child’