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Being able to read is fundamental to success in today's society and acquiring early reading skills should, most of all, be fun for your toddler. It's one thing to be able to teach a child to read, but it's quite another to teach a child to love reading. Early reading therefore shouldn't simply involve teaching your toddler to recognize letters, string them into words and put them into sentences, but must also be concerned with nurturing a love of books, words and the written language. Here are some ideas to nurture this love: Be choosy - For very early reading select books with large, clear, colorful and cheerful pictures and brief, straightforward stories. Many toddlers enjoy rhyming books as they love the rhythms in verse, but now is also a good time to begin to introduce some very simple tales in prose. Be determined - Many toddlers do nothing but squirm the first time they're read to, but repeated attempts are generally successful. Introduce a regular story time, bed-time is the usual favorite, but if you have time in the morning a snuggly story-time session in bed can be nice as well. Be creative - You know what interests and attracts your child better than the book's author. So don't feel you are obliged to read the words exactly as they're written. Allowing your imagination to improvise along the way can greatly enhance your child's enjoyment of the story and help encourage early reading. Be interactive - Long before your child is able to read, they can participate in the reading process. Suggest that they point out the various characters in the pictures as you go along, or later get them to fill in some gaps in sentences or rhymes in books they're familiar with. As they get older try asking them questions like, "Why do you think that happened?" Joining in is part of the fun experience that early reading should be - your child loves to have your attention and will actively look forward to these sessions together. Be expressive - Remember - early reading must be fun - and no one enjoys listening to a boring monotone. A toddler who is still developing language skills will find an expressive reading style not only more fun, but also easier to understand. Be repetitive - Toddlers adore hearing the same story over and over. It can drive you to distraction (believe me I know!!) but it's incredibly satisfying to their young ears - and will encourage those early reading skills too. Keep it brief - Your toddler won't have developed a long attention span yet, so keep those early reading sessions short. Go through the pages quickly to keep them from getting bored, and be prepared to finish story time after just a few minutes if they're really not in the mood. Be cuddly - Children who associate reading with the comfort of snuggling up on a much-loved parent's lap almost always enjoy reading books later on. Set a good example - If your toddler sees you reading, even occasionally, they're likely to think it's a good, grown-up pastime and will most likely begin to initiate their early reading sessions themselves. Lastly, reduce the hours of television that's watched by your toddler and the rest of the family. Research has shown that families who watch less read more. Ellie Dixon lives in deepest rural Devon, England with her husband and two very large Newfoundland dogs. She is passionate about vintage illustrated children's books and loves to restore and edit them for today's kids to rediscover. Visit her website, Scruffy's Bookshop, to download some great books for pre-schoolers and older children, and while you're there sign up for her free monthly newsletter.