"You can not make a child walk before they are ready.
You can not make a child read before they are ready.
You can however make a child think they are dumb
or learn to hate reading if you push them
before they are capable."
-Stephanie, Throwing Marshmallows

People ask "if learning to read is so natural, why do we have illiterate people?"

First, kids have to be exposed to it. In medieval Europe, or in the middle of the Amazon, it can be understood that reading was not widespread. But in colonial America, where commerce and trading were king, it was nearly unavoidable. This is why literacy rates were basically the same as they are now, in the 21st century, where reading (even if it's an advertisement) covers almost any surface available.

Second, kids must not be discouraged FROM reading. While many believe that forcing a kid to read will help them do better, the fact is many kids will end up reading LESS, if at all. If a kid simply isn't ready to learn, their constant failure will convince them that they are stupid, and that there must be something wrong with them that prevents them from reading. Thus, when the time comes that they ARE ready, they are already marked as "learning disabled" by their teachers, parents, and often, themselves. So sure are they that they will never be able to read, they doom themselves to failure. This goes for any area of learning they may be pushed into learning before they are ready to learn it.

Also, if reading is made to be a "chore", the learner will grow to dislike it. They will read as little as possible, and as a result, will stop reading when they are no longer forced to do it, further hindering their abilities. Why do think it is that so few people read for pleasure after leaving school?

So read to your kids. Let them see YOU reading and enjoying reading. But don't force it upon them, or you risk creating a lifelong hater of reading.