Navigating Parental Dilemmas in Early Literacy

Combining contextual and theoretical perspectives, this book examines how parents navigate early literacy dilemmas through illustrative cases from three culturally and linguistically distinct contexts—English-speaking New Zealand, bilingual Arabic-English UAE, and Mandarin-speaking China—representing challenges faced by families globally.

While early literacy offers abundant opportunities, it also presents challenges for families striving to support their young children’s learning. Drawing on the author’s extensive experience as an early childhood educator and researcher in these regions, the book presents real-life examples of how parents make decisions regarding screen time, reading instruction and language exposure. At the heart of the book lies a practical, four-step problem-solving framework called ‘pragmatising’, which connects expert advice with everyday practice. This framework helps families and educators to identify key ideas, interpret them in context, balance differing viewpoints and adapt strategies to meet children’s needs. Eight common dilemmas, such as screen versus print, child-led versus adult-led talk, and when to introduce a second language, are used to illustrate the framework.

Grounded in cross-national research, this timely and accessible book will serve educators, researchers, students of early education and literacy, and a global audience of parents and policymakers committed to supporting young children's learning and development.