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Children should not have to wait until structured school to learn to read. If a child shows readiness at an early age, parents should take the time to begin to teach him to read. The illiteracy rate in the United States is hovering around 14%.

Walk up and down any aisle in the store and you will likely see many items for sale that are deliberately misspelled by the manufacturer. Consider how often we see words such as kat instead of cat, wite out instead of white out, and similar misspellings do not help a person to spell. Similarly, with the huge use of text messaging, abbreviations and misspellings become the normal.

Consider the following text message: c u @ hmm instead of see you at home. The misuse of "your" and "you're" could be because children in school aren't given the instructions they need to spell correctly. In a world where reading is vitally important, it is our responsibility as parents, teachers, and educators to ensure that children learn correct spelling and use of words.

Being unable to read creates a huge burden on society and contributes to things such as being unable to fill out a job application, misreading of safety labels, and perhaps giving or taking the wrong medicine.

Conversely, forcing a child to learn before he is ready is not a good idea. It can create a feeling of inadequacy in the child and he may struggle with that feeling for years.

Allowing a child to begin to read at an early age creates a love of books that will last a lifetime. Reading is a key to knowledge, and opens up job opportunities, use of imagination, and the ability to understand and write better.

Reading early might also help a child with a speech problem. For example, my grandson garbled his words and required a speech therapist. Once he began reading, however, his speech cleared up and he is completely understandable now. My younger grandson is showing a great interest in reading already, and can recite most of the alphabet.

Statistically, the average person reads at an eighth grade level. Combine that with the aforementioned illiteracy rate, and we are a country with a need of teaching our children how to read well. Those who read more tend to have better comprehension of the subject matter, write well because they understand grammar rules.

Reading nonfiction, biographies, and similar books can shape a person's writing and reading skills. Reading science fiction or other technical subjects can improve a person's knowledge of words and definitions.

In my opinion, there is not an age that is too young for a child to learn to read. However, I caution parents not to force their children to learn. If they are showing an interest in reading the comics, for example, point to the words. A child can learn quickly and will always value their reading abilities.

Learn more about this author, Jinianne Lutz.
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