Reading begins in the first year of life. If materials in both languages are available for the child to hold and glance through, and if books are read to the child in both languages, biliteracy is encouraged before a child begins to decode words on a page. The enjoyment of books begins when the child is in the first year of life. As children enter the nursery years, their enjoyment of books grows, their curiosity is aroused and they begin to handle books more and more. By the ages of four to seven, a child is usually beginning to read in one language, occasionally two.

During those first four or five years, there is no reason why books should not be available to a child in both languages. If parents decide to encourage reading in two languages at once, this will often occur around the ages four to six. If, on the other hand, parents decide to introduce one reading language first, the second language may be introduced around age seven or later.

This sequential strategy is to encourage children to read in one language first and feel a growing competence in reading. When children start to read by themselves, they seem able to begin to read in a second language or begin to write in a different script. The key factor is that reading and writing must be a pleasure to the child. It is important to induce a long-term positive attitude to books and reading from the start.