I am just wondering if anyone here is teaching their toddlers to read? There has been a lot of talk about it lately.

No, he can't read but he's known his letters for 4 months. Thank you, Super Why!

I have been trying to teach my 3 yr old but she really isnt catching on so we are learning letters and numbers now

My husband got my son "Reader Rabbit", a computer game. It's nice because the child doesn't have to press specific keys or even use the mouse to play. While my 17 month old son is not reading or talking yet (an excellent nodder though), he LOVES this game.

We haven't been trying to teach our daughter to read, but she knows all of her capital letters, most of her lowercase letters and most of the sounds they make. If you want a fun way to encourage the learning of the letters/their sounds try the LeapFrog Phonics fridge magnets. You can buy all the letters (upper & lowercase) and I've heard when they get older you can buy an extra base thing that allows them to spell 3 letter words.

I always make it a habit to read stories to my son. I think its a good practice to encourage him to read books, listen well and even share thoughts based on the book. I think that's a first step on teaching him how to read.

No, I am not actively teaching my son (3 1/2) to read. He does know his ABC's, their sounds etc. He has been asking how things are spelled a lot and he can sound out some letters but we don't have a 'learning program', so to say

I have read some information about the effects of early academics on kids and play based learning. I personally lean towards the play based learning rather than 'academics' at this age. Some studies show that early introduction of academics does not create smarter children or higher performance in school but rather it does increase anxiety. So, for me personally (and not trying to comment on what anyone else should do), I am trying to stick to the play based as well as to following his own interest.

My 2 year old is learning his ABC's (by site). He knows the ABC's and 123's up to 10. I bought him puzzles that talk (says the letter and the word that starts with the letter).

I've taken a piece of white posterboard and cut it into long strips and written simple words (Mom, Dad, Dog, etc.) in large red blocks on the posterboard. We go through them like flashcards (I started by going through them and telling her the words, about 5 at a time so she doesn't get overwhelmed) - she loves the game, and she's getting familiar with words by sight, which will help her long term literacy.

My son lows the alphabet puzzles (ours don't talk though) and I've found he pays attention to Sesame street and repeats the alphabet. He also loves singing ABC and repeats each letter after I say it. He can recognize a few letters on his own, like U and Y.

I am consistently told by the schools here that reading is the best thing you can do for your child. I won't read to him all day, but we read two books before bed and my son gets into them if I make voices or use actions. One book we have, I say 'Good Job' and put my thumb up, he makes me do it every time or he gets very upset!