Reading With Baby
A recent study has concluded that children leaving primary school in 
Scotland are on average three years ahead of their English peers when it comes to reading. Why? Because of the different teaching methods.
In England and Wales, the current government changed the way children are taught to read 7 years ago. The National Literacy Strategy (NLS) lays down that schools should use the 'look and say' method - holding up a card with a word on it and saying the word. Children then have to memorise the shape of the word in order to recognise it again when they are reading.
In Scotland teachers use the old-fashioned method of sounding out the letters - c a t spells cat. That's probably the way you learnt, but, unless you're living north of the border, your child will have to struggle with 'look and say' for the time being at least.
Instead of accepting they made the wrong decision, the government stubbornly decided to ask ex-OFSTED director Jim Rose to conduct yet another review. He has issued an intermediary report that confirms that 'synthetic phonics' (C-A-T spells cat) is indeed the best method. Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Education has said she will implement the findings of the final report.
In the meantime you might wish to start teaching your toddler to read. You can buy books that help you with this, just make sure you are using the best method.
