We often notice that in a screen-saturated world, many parents struggle with the challenge of digital devices replacing traditional books and play, putting pressure on Early Childhood Literacy. The foundations for language, attention, and overall school readiness are built long before children start primary school, making the early years critical for development.
Rowena Mark Ramos, Head of Curriculum at Babilou Family Singapore, addresses these concerns, stressing the need to prioritize books and real-world interactions over excessive screen time.
Q: Many Parents Worry Their Child Prefers Screens to Books. At What Point Should Parents be Concerned?
Rowena Mark Ramos (RMR): Young children learn best through sensory experiences such as messy play, listening to stories, engaging with music and movement, and exploring the outdoors. Books naturally complement these experiences by fostering shared attention between parent and child, enriching language development, and sparking imagination.
Parents should be mindful when screens are introduced too early or used so frequently that they replace these foundational experiences.
Research shows that excessive screen time can reduce opportunities for language growth and parent–child interaction, which are both crucial in the early years. When screens take precedence over reading, play, or conversation, children may miss out on developing essential skills that support learning.
Just as we carefully protect our children from viruses, we should give equal attention to shielding them from the potential harms of too much screen time. Prioritising books and real-world interactions ensures that screens serve as a supplement, not a substitute, for healthy development.
Q: Parents Are Busy and Often Exhausted. What Are The Smallest, Most Realistic Ways Families Can Build A Reading Habit at Home Without Turning It into Another “Task”?
RMR: The most sustainable reading habits don’t come from adding another task to a busy day. It is finding ways that work for you and your family. Reading does not need to be a long sit-down session to be meaningful, but it can be woven into aspects of everyday life – and it does not always have to involve a book.
Reading the information on a cereal box during breakfast, pointing out road signs when walking home from school, or talking about advertisements at bus stops while waiting for the bus, are all valuable literacy experiences.
What matters most is consistency and interaction. When parents read aloud what is around them and briefly talk about the words or pictures, children are exposed to language in a natural and stress-free manner. These moments support vocabulary, print awareness, and comprehension, especially in early childhood. Children will also gradually grow to learn that reading provides them with new knowledge and information.
When reading becomes part of daily routines rather than a formal activity, children begin to see it as a normal and useful part of life.
Q: In Classrooms Today, What Differences Do You Notice Between Children Who Are Regularly Read to And Those Who Mostly Engage with Screens?
RMR:: Children who are read to regularly, start school with stronger language skills. They usually have a wider vocabulary, and are more comfortable listening to and talking about stories than children who have had less shared reading.
Studies following infants and toddlers have found that frequent book reading is linked to better language development, while higher amounts of passive screen time are associated with smaller vocabularies by around age two.
When adults read with children, it activates areas of the brain that are responsible for language acquisition, attention and self-control. Through neuro research, it shows that higher levels of screen use have been linked to weaker connections in these same areas.
Larger international studies also show how powerful access to books can be. One study across 35 countries found that preschool-aged children who had even one children’s book at home were almost twice as likely to be on track in early reading and maths skills than children without books, regardless of family income or parents’ education.
Together, this research shows that reading with children isn’t just about teaching them to read earlier. It supports language, attention, and overall school readiness in ways that make a lasting difference once children enter school.
Q: Some Parents Assume Children Will “Learn to Read Properly” Later in Primary School. Why Does Early Exposure to Stories and Language Matter So Much Before Formal Schooling?
RMR: The foundations for reading are built long before children start primary school. Listening to stories helps children learn new words, build attention and memory, and understand how language works. When young children hear and join everyday conversations, they begin to learn that words help us share ideas, feelings, and experiences.
These early language experiences also support healthy brain development. From birth, children’s brains are especially ready to learn language. Talking, singing, and reading together help strengthen the brain connections needed for listening, understanding, and managing emotions. Without these early experiences, learning to read later on can feel much harder.
Supporting early language and literacy is not just about succeeding academically. It is about creating a rich language environment so children feel ready and confident when school begins. Children who grow up surrounded by stories and conversation don’t just find reading easier, instead they approach learning with greater confidence.
For Parents Whose Children Struggle with Focus or Imagination, How Can Reading Help — Even If the Child Isn’t Reading Fluently Yet?
Stories spark imagination! When children listen to rich, engaging stories, they naturally picture the characters and events in their own minds. This helps them build creativity and come up with their own ideas. On the other hand, when children watch stories on screens, the images are already created for them, leaving less room for their imagination to grow.
Research shows that children who enjoy stories from an early age — whether through reading or simply listening and chatting about them — tend to develop stronger memory, language and communication skills. These children also show better learning outcomes and healthy brain development as they grow.
Creative storytelling is especially valuable because it allows children to express themselves freely and gain confidence, knowing there is no “right” or “wrong” way to tell a story.
In short, reading is about so much more than learning words. It helps children build focus, creativity and confidence, while nurturing a lifelong love for learning.
Q: Play-Based Literacy Programmes Are Gaining Attention. From A Parent’s Perspective, What Should They Look for to Know A Programme Is Truly Building Love for Reading, Not Just Decoding Skills?
For play-based literacy programmes, a strong programme should allow children to experience literacy in an enjoyable and meaningful way, and not just focus on it being a skill to be mastered. In strong literacy environments, children often invent their own stories, and retell ideas during play. You’ll notice children making up their own narratives inspired by books they have read or events they have experienced. These are powerful signs that they are connecting language with literacy.
In quality programmes, literacy is embedded naturally into everyday experiences through conversations, storytelling, drawing, and imaginative play. One of the clearest indicators is a child’s enthusiasm: when children look forward to story time, ask questions, and want to revisit or extend stories through play, it shows that comprehension and curiosity are taking root. When this genuine love for reading is nurtured early on, decoding and fluency develop more smoothly and with greater confidence over time.
Q: Many Parents Admit They Don’t Read Much Themselves Anymore. How Much Does Parental Modelling Really Matter in Shaping A Child’s Reading Habits?
RMR: Parental modelling plays a much bigger role than many parents realise, and it doesn’t require parents to be avid readers themselves. Children are highly observant, and what matters most is not how often parents read, but the message they send about the value of reading. This can come through simple shared moments, casual conversations about a story, or seeing a parent use reading to learn something new.
Across our Babilou Family Singapore centres, KiddiWinkie Schoolhouse and Little Footprints Preschool, we often notice that children are more engaged and confident when they’ve experienced reading as a shared activity with an adult, rather than something they’re expected to do on their own.
Small, everyday actions such as reading a short article aloud, flipping through a magazine together, or talking about what a story made you think or feel, help children see reading as a natural and enjoyable part of daily life. These moments, even when brief, can have a meaningful impact on a child’s motivation, language development, and long-term relationship with reading.
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