Every evening at 7:00 PM, my family sits down for dinner. After a quick break, my daughter and I start what we jokingly call “Home Academy” at 7:45 PM. It’s our learning time, and I take it pretty seriously.
But last week, something funny happened. My 2-year-old son wasn’t having it. He didn’t want to be left out.
He marched into the room wearing his favorite orange shark shirt, grabbed his sister’s old notebook, and plopped down next to us. He was ready to learn.
What Is Pretend Reading in Early Literacy?
Here’s where it got interesting. My daughter started reading her book out loud, and my son joined in. Sort of.
“Ahh… Ahh… EE… Ou…”
He wasn’t saying real words. But he was copying everything else – her volume, her pauses, even the rhythm of her sentences. And he looked so serious about it.
This is called pretend reading, and honestly, I didn’t know much about it until that moment. Pretend reading occurs when toddlers mimic the act of reading before they can actually do so. They hold books, turn pages, point at pictures, and make sounds like they’re reading stories.
It looks like playing. But it’s actually one of the most important early literacy activities for toddlers.
Is Pretend Reading a Sign of Intelligence?
I won’t lie – watching my son “read” made me wonder if he was ahead of the curve. But after looking into it, I realized pretend reading isn’t really about being gifted or advanced.
It’s about something better: interest.
When toddlers pretend to read, they’re demonstrating their desire to be part of the reading world. They see books as important, fun, or powerful. And that attitude matters way more than whether they can recognize letters yet.
So, is pretend reading a sign of intelligence? Maybe. But it’s definitely a sign that your child is paying attention, learning from others, and building early literacy skills without even knowing it.
The “Point and Name” Game (And Why It Matters)
While my son loves mimicking his sister’s “serious” notebook work, I noticed he interacts differently when we switch to picture books. In the notebook, he scribbles. But with his colorful alphabet books, he plays what I call the “Point and Name” game.
If you look closely at how toddlers interact with books, you’ll notice they use their index finger like a tool. My son does this constantly. He stops “reading” the sentence and jabs his finger onto a specific image—usually a lion or a piece of fruit—and looks at me.
This is actually a critical milestone. He is isolating a specific concept. He understands that this specific drawing relates to that specific real-world object.
For parents trying to encourage this, I’ve found that “busy” books work best. These are books with grids of pictures (like animals, foods, or household items) rather than just one big scene. It gives his little finger a target. When he points, I immediately give him the word.
He points to the cat.
I say, “Cat.”
He tries to say, “Ca.”
It feels like a game to him, but it’s actually vocabulary building. He isn’t just looking at a page; he is decoding it.
How My Son Showed Print Awareness Without Knowing It
One moment really stuck with me. In the middle of his performance, my son stopped and pointed at a picture in the notebook. He made a sound, then looked up at me like he was asking, “Is this right?”
That tiny moment? That’s called print awareness for toddlers.
What Is Print Awareness for Toddlers?
Print awareness means understanding that:
- Marks on a page have meaning.
- Books are read in a certain direction (left to right, top to bottom).
- Pictures and words are connected.
My son doesn’t know how to read yet. But he already knows that the squiggles and images on the page mean something. He’s figuring out the rules of reading just by watching us. And the best part? I didn’t have to teach him. He learned it by crashing our study session.
How to Develop Print Awareness (Without Flashcards)
You don’t need fancy programs or apps to help your toddler build these skills. Here’s what actually works, based on what I’ve seen in my own home:
- Let them join in. When your older kids are reading or doing homework, let the little one sit nearby. They’ll absorb more than you think.
- Point while you read. When you read bedtime stories, run your finger under the words. It shows them that reading goes from left to right.
- Let them turn the pages. This teaches them that books have a flow and an order.
- Don’t correct their pretend reading. If they’re holding the book upside down and babbling, that’s fine. They’re practicing.
- Ask questions about pictures. “What do you see here?” helps them connect images to meaning.
These simple actions build the foundation for real reading later on. And they don’t feel like work – they feel like family time.
Designing a “Home Academy” Where Toddlers Are Welcome
A lot of parents ask me how I get a 2-year-old to sit still for more than thirty seconds. The honest answer? I don’t force him. But I do set up the environment to make it easier for him to join us.
Our “Home Academy” isn’t a rigid desk setup. As you can see from our evenings, we often sit on the bed or a soft rug. This is intentional. If we were at a high dining table, my son would physically feel excluded—he’s too short to see the books, and he would need to be strapped into a high chair, which instantly makes it feel like “jail” rather than “play.”
By bringing the study session down to his level (literally), the barrier to entry is gone.
- The Comfort Factor: We use comfortable bedding or mats. If he wants to roll around, he can. If he wants to sit up and read, he can.
- The “Shark Shirt” Confidence: I let him wear what he wants. If putting on his favorite orange shark shirt makes him feel ready to take on the world, then that’s his uniform.
- The Copycat Rule: I always make sure he has his own “prop.” If big sister has a pencil, he gets a crayon. If she has a textbook, he gets his notebook.
If you want your toddler to care about reading, you have to lower the barriers. If they have to ask for permission to see a book, or if the books are on a shelf they can’t reach, they won’t care. But if the books are right there on the mattress, waiting to be opened? They can’t resist.
Why I Didn’t Kick Him Out
I’ll be honest. Part of me wanted to say, “Buddy, go play with your toys. This is your sister’s time.”
But I didn’t. And I’m glad.
Because right now, my son is building his identity. He sees himself as a learner. He sees himself as someone who can do what his sister does. That confidence is fragile, and I’m not going to mess with it.
In a few years, he’ll be reading for real. And when he does, I think he’ll remember these nights – the nights he “read” next to his sister in his shark shirt, making sounds that didn’t mean anything but somehow meant everything.
The Real Lesson
Pretend reading isn’t just noise. It’s not just cute. It’s your toddler running a test version of literacy in their brain. They’re trying on the identity of a reader, experimenting with sounds and symbols, and learning that books are worth paying attention to.
So if your 2-year-old grabs a book, babbles at the pages, and looks at you like they just recited poetry? Play along. Nod. Smile. Maybe even clap.
Because they’re not faking it. They’re practicing for the real thing.
And that’s worth celebrating.
