Role of Parents in a Child's Reading and Literacy Development

Abstract

Unless the home is made a literacy immersion centre where the child begins its literacy acquisition and unless the home is connected with the society and the school in enhancing the child's literacy acquisition; the home could neutralize the child's efforts and impede the child's literacy acquisition(Onukaogu 2007). It is widely acknowledged that homes could provide powerful influence on a child's early literacy development. Research has shown that parental involvement is crucial to a child's reading success. So every parent has a unique role in early Child's literacy. Since parents teach their children at home to talk, sit, stand, eat and walk without undergoing any form of training, I am of the opinion that they could play a pivotal role in their children's early literacy with little or no training. This study examines roles of parents in their children's early reading and literacy development. This paper further examines the impact of parental training and involvement in home reading on the child's early reading level and recommends ways of providing parents with adequate skills necessary to promote their confidence and know-how in supporting their children’s literacy development.

Keywords: Literacy, Early Child Reading, Parental involvement