The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends shared reading beginning as soon as possible after birth, and dialogic reading is specifically advocated by the AAP — but there is no brief, validated tool for measuring whether parents are actually doing it well at home.

A study on comprehension strategy instruction found that when parents were taught to engage children in retelling, recognizing story structure, activating prior knowledge, and talking about text, it produced significant changes in parent-child interaction patterns — implying these strategies were largely absent before the training.

This free video and guide will help you learn the easy to follow but essential steps to read aloud to your child.