How soon should a parent begin to help their child learn the skills that will help them achieve his/her goals in life? Would you believe before birth?

More and more studies show that children do the majority of their learning at a much earlier age than previously thought. Most early childhood education experts agree the largest percentage of learning is achieved before age three. And while there is no definative proof, experts tend to believe that unborn infants actually have the ability to respond to music and the rhythmic reading of their mothers' voices.

So what is the aveage parent to do to help their child maximize their learning potential. Well, suprisingly it doesn't require expensive equipment. The answer it seems can be summed up in three little words: read,talk and play.

A study on early literacy conducted in the early 80's which followed very young children through college graduation concluded the single best indicator of a child's eventual success is having a parent or parents who read. And both playing and talking to your child will increase their ability to learn about the world, while learning valuable information about science, math, physic and creativity. Forget about formal lesson plans, everything you do with your child is an opporunity to increase learning. A puppet show with the socks you are folding while doing laundry or something as simple as playing "where's the stop or yield sign" as you drive to errands is a learning experience.

So read, talk and play with your child, and don't worry if they don't understand the words, it won't matter.

Learn more about this author, Karen Caldwell.
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