You, as a parent, talked to your baby, expected your baby to respond, and rejoiced at the cooing, babbling, and other baby language your child began to use.
Young children are intensely interested in printed language, too.
To become skillful readers and writers, young children need many opportunities to listen to stories, use pencils and other markers, and pretend to read and write just as they see their parents doing. The spontaneous, informal activities of daily family life provide children with many wonderful opportunities for developing literacy skills. Learning to use language is both a natural and joyful experience for children. Parents can begin reading to their babies by using colorful picture books and just pointing to and talking about pictures. Establishing a regular, daily, enjoyable reading time together is one of the most important things a parent can do to help a child's literacy development.