here is my very sleep deprived early morning two cents: for the most part, speech actually comes more naturally than reading. Our brains are wired to acquire spoken languge in a much more direct way than the ability to read. Of course some children need more direct intervention with speech, but in general, most children pick it up from just listening, yet parents do label items for their children, correct their grammar, extend their sentences to help their vocabulary, etc. We do it almost unconsciously half of the time. Some children need almost no direction whatsoever in reading, but many if not most children need more explicit instruction. My DD4 was one of those who just picked it up, but I could see the benefit of stepping in now and helping her to improve. Don't we do that with so many things like learning to ride a bike, drawing etc? Truth is, my DD doesn't really let me help her improve in any of those areas--not in riding a bike, not with letter writing, not with dressing, not with reading, so she makes it virtually impossible for me to help, but if she were more open to it as some children may be, I think it is normal for parents to want to help kids improve skills.
