Chiquita Patrizi, spokesperson for Prima Toys encourages parents to make a point of celebrating the joy or reading this month.

Reading is a vital part of life as it helps us make sense of the world, it helps us to learn and gain knowledge about all sorts of subjects and it provides escapism and enjoyment.

There are many ways to instil a love of reading and you can start when your child is still a toddler. Reading a bedtime story to your child is hugely beneficial for them and for yourself as a parent. You get to spend quality time with your child while you both enjoy a wonderful story.

There are also wonderful educational products on the market that encourage literacy. Educational toy brand LeapFrog continues to do research in the field of literacy and they have discovered that literacy skills begin to develop at birth, and these skills need to be fostered.

While each child’s developmental journey has its own pace, you can encourage the progression of important skills through activities that are fun and engaging.

Below are some fun ways that parents can encourage literacy in their children, especially the little ones:

Encourage them to explore books and the world of reading
LeapStart has a variety of reading products for every step of a child’s development. The LeapReader Junior is appropriate for ages 1 to 3 and allows kids to enjoy reading by themselves with the help of “my pal Scout” and “my pal Violet”. Children can explore books by themselves by simply touching the book pal to the specially printed page of the LeapReader Junior board book. Children can hear the story text, songs, engaging sound effects or open-ended questions without the help of a parent.

LeapFrog’s LeapStart
A great product for helping children aged two to four learn skills that will help them when they start school is the LeapStart. The LeapStart is an interactive learning system jam-packed with school and life skills. The activity books are designed to help build key abilities and challenge kids to get ready for their next step in learning. The system works with a library of re-playable activity books that get kids excited about concepts such as social skills, reading comprehension and communication, phonics and problem solving, as well as concepts such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).

Sing the alphabet song and sound out letters and words
Bring a deeper level of understanding by helping your child sound out words. LeapFrog’s Alphapup is ideal for toddlers as it sings the alphabet and sounds out letters and words to provide early exposure to basic vocabulary and phonics. It features the British English language with spellings, phonics and pronunciations.

Enjoy the rhythm of music
Clap or dance to the beat, and even make up your own funny or non-sense lyrics. Music provides plenty of natural opportunities for children to appreciate and manipulate the sounds of language. The LeapFrog My Pal Scout gives learning a personal touch. This soft, cuddly puppy pal is a plush, interactive learning toy that can be personalized to learn your child's name and favourite songs, colours, food and more. Just connect the pup to a computer and start personalising, then turn the teaching over to Scout and explore first words, numbers, daily routines and feelings. As children play with Scout, friendly activities encourage them to talk and sing along. This interaction can help develop early language and literacy skills. My Pal Scout is ideal for ages 6 months to 3 years.

Whichever way you celebrate literacy and a love of reading, ensure that the process is always fun!

For more information go to www.facebook.com/PrimaToys