Children’s personal experience, confidence and
success (or otherwise) with books and reading,
particularly at the initial stages, is directly
related to their attitude towards reading (Wang,
2000).
Many of these attitudes are developed prior to
school commencement and often are closely linked
to early literacy experiences in the home. Economic
conditions of the household may determine
children’s exposure and access to quality reading
materials in the home. Some low-income families
find it extremely difficult to resource their children’s
early literacy needs. While it appears that most
families are aware of the importance of the home
literacy environment and the need for reading
resources, too many are without books or lack an
adult who is willing to read to children.
With the realisation that family members can
contribute positively to early literacy development,
there has been a plethora of programs and initiatives
in recent years designed to support and encourage
family participation in children’s literacy education.
Surprisingly, most current programs assume (often
incorrectly) that parents/carers have sufficient
available finances to resource the literacy needs of
their children
