Children need all of the encouragement they can get when they are first learning to read. In my opinion it's always a good thing to reinforce learning as many different ways as possible, and to make learning as fun as possible. So I think that whoever came up with alphabet food was a genius.
Normally I'm not a big fan of processed food, but I make an exception for these potato letters. They cost about £1 from Asda and my kids love them. It makes meal time a great time to reinforce learning what sounds letters make (for my 2-year-old) and reading simple words (for my 5-year-old). I spell words with them when serving them, and encourage them to use the letters to make their own words as well. I'll also ask them to find a certain letter (and they get to eat it when they find it). It's a really great way to reinforce reading for younger kids.
In addition to these potato waffles, we've also had letter shaped noodles. I've also been known to make letter shaped pancakes, and you can get letter shaped cookie cutters.
For more ideas on how to help your child learn to read, click here or here.
