• Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud.
• Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times. Children need to hear a thousand stories before they learn to read!
• Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don't be dull, or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot.
• Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for the listeners.
• Read the stories that the kids love over and over again, and always read in the same ‘tune’ for each book: i.e. with the same intonations on each page, each time.
• Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly; or sing any old song that you can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing clapping games.
• Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books for young children, and make sure the books are short!
• Play games with the things that you and the child can see on the page, such as finding the letters that start the child's name and yours, remembering that it’s never work, it’s always a fabulous game.
• Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.
• Read aloud every day because you just love being with your child, not because it's the right thing to do.

If you are a busy working parent who can rarely find time to read to your child, why not try one of the following tips:

• Buy two copies of your child’s favourite book. Leave one at home and take one with you to the office. Schedule 10 minutes every day to call your child and read aloud to them over the phone - it will still be your special time together.
• When you are travelling, pull up a story on your computer and read it aloud over the phone.
• If you are going to be away for a while - record on tape, video, CD or DVD - several of your child’s favourite bedtime stories and leave special messages for them.