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Children should be given the right start from the early childhood stage until the age of 6 to 8 years, which is the most critical period when the foundations are laid for life-long development and the realization of full potential. This can be attained through a proper school readiness programme. School readiness is a combination of academic, social, and physical skills of the child that are deemed necessary to function adequately under formal learning situations. Home is the first school of a child. The environment at home is a primary socialization agent and influences a child´s interest in school and aspirations for the future. Parents play an important role in the life of a child. The characteristics a child imbibes from the family and the involvement shown by parents are deciding factors in the gains that the child makes right from the pre-school stage. There have been positive opinions amongst academics on the aspects of parental involvement and family life that contribute to children´s literacy achievement. The book provides useful insights for those working in the field of pre-school education, parents, teachers, policy makers, teacher-educators and administrators

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Dr.Jose J. Kurisunkal is a teacher at National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) at Bhopal. He has expertise is ECCE, Pre-school and Primary Education, Teacher Education, Statistical Analysis and Interpretation and ICT. He is an M A in English Lit, UGC-NET and Ph.D in Education. He has presented and published his work extensively

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