This is the big test. Not for your child - but for you. Reading, far more than walking or growing teeth seems to make parents tense, anxious and eager to compare their little genius with yours. There are many reasons for this. Not least is the fact that, health permitting, all kids walk eventually and get teeth, while at least 13% of the adult population still can’t read effectively.

Three comforting facts
There are some key facts you should know: First there are many controversies surrounding which method is best - do what suits you and your child. Second, reading readiness varies enormously from child to child – they don’t ripen like fruit at a predictable time. And third – content is everything. Many a child is put off reading by content that is boring or upsetting.

For starters
If you have been sharing books with your baby, he or she will already know that the same pictures or sounds can be visited again and again within a book. She’ll know which way up books go and that they are read from left to right. She will also know that it feels good to have your attention, sit in a loving embrace and have the enjoyment doubled by sharing it. It should never be a chore or a forced activity. This child has a head start. Books should be treasured and causing damage to them, discouraged. But they should be accessible and available – if you lock them away they cannot be looked at and explored when the whim strikes. They won’t be equated with toys. Some children will drag a favourite around for days. Wipe clean books protect your sanity.

Beyond books
But what about those rough and tumble boys who never want to sit still for long enough to read through a story? Remind yourself that reading is all around us. You can get him to spot car badges, hamburger emporiums and other signs that tell us a message. Point out labels in the supermarket – ask him to try to help you find the yoghurt he likes. One of the first steps in reading is distinguishing between different shapes and discerning a message in what seem like ‘squiggles’.

You might read to him when he’s in the bath – or develop some games with words to describe, say, water. How many words can you think of? Splash, drop, ripple…. Spoken language is the stepping stone to reading. If you read aloud to him often, even though he may be playing on the floor nearby, he will soon know easy rhymes and stories by heart. Help him develop his concentration by pausing and have him finish the sentence. Point to the words with your finger as you move through the book, many children will pick up the fact that a word like ‘zoo’ is said when your finger stops at the word they recognise. They can see it coming – anticipation is another important reading skill.

Keep it fun
Because reading is the key to learning and a key yardstick, it is seen as the first step at which your child can fail. This ‘failure’ when school starts, can make a child believe that he really is stupid and it’s not worth trying. He might see his classmates outstrip him fast if they come into school knowing how to count and some letters of the alphabet while he does not. Keep his morale high at all costs and prepare him as well as you can. Reading is for fun – no pressure or drilling, enforcement or duress will make a real reader who grows up to love books. If he reads to please you and not himself he’ll probably not read fiction after the age of ten.

Lurking always in the distance are the new tests for seven-year-olds – a recent added pressure. But don’t succumb to the ‘hothouse’ forcing method. Parents have power. They can teach their child about books and have fun doing it. Introduce humour and rhymes, funny sounds and games, for language is itself funny. Make sure that boys see men read too, or they might believe reading is something women do.

Books versus TV
After baby books, there are stories, riddles and rhymes, rude poems and scary plots. There are ripping yarns and gory fairy tales. All you do as a parent is open the gateway to let your child through. Use whatever method or combination seems to work – some children have strong skills in recognising words or letters, while others have a strong auditory sense. Phonetics works for some, while others ‘guess’ from their knowledge of language.

Parents worry that children spend time watching TV and videos or playing on computers and less time on reading. The only successful fight back is to find stories that are so exciting, your child wants to know what comes next. Reading aloud to children for years pays dividends. Reach a cliffhanger and stop. Keep something for tomorrow – success is when they say ‘Oh please can’t we read now!’.

Adrienne Katz is author of You Can Teach Your Child to Read (Thorsons)