Reading together with your child offers many beneficial boosts during their ever-evolving development. In fact, you can begin helping your baby learn even while she’s in the womb.
During pregnancy, baby can hear voices from around 10 weeks before birth. Reading to your baby bump will promote recognition of your voice once baby is born. For dads-to-be, this offers a great way to be identified by baby once she makes her appearance in the world.
Once your newborn arrives, reading benefits continue. Newborns are soothed by snuggling with Mom or Dad and hearing the sound of their voices. Story time familiarizes them with language, patterns of speech, and rhythms. Reading a short book gives you something to say to your baby when it might otherwise feel awkward or silly to carry on a one-sided conversation.
Below are a few guidelines of development after the newborn stage, according to Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook:
- At 4 months of age, a child is able to listen and observe
- By 6 months, the child is more interested in grabbing a book to chew or suck on rather than listening. Bypass the problem by giving him a teething toy or other distraction
- At 8 months, he may prefer turning pages to steady listening. Allow him to explore this activity, but don’t let him take the book away from you
- At 12 months, the child’s involvement grows to turning pages for you, pointing to objects you name on the page, even making noises for animals on cue
- By 15 months and the onset of walking, his restlessness blossoms fully, and your reading times must be chosen so as not to frustrate his immediate interests
- By 2 years old, children are interested in everything and need names for those things. So plan to spend more time on each page naming items in pictures
Storytime benefits include:
Bonding – A quiet, one-on-one activity like story time promotes safety and security. Spending a little time snuggled up and reading during a time where you can put away other distractions shows your little one that they are valued and loved.
Routine – Every human being performs better when following a routine, and children thrive on routine. Bedtime reading can act as a signal to baby that it’s time to prepare for sleep. A mid-day reading time can help a child identify times to slow down and focus. Creating a habit of reading time sets your child up with a healthy appreciation of routine and schedule.
Language & Communication – Hearing words early in life will build a rich network of vocabulary in a baby’s brain. Reading a variety of books to your child introduces them to sounds, numbers, letters, colors, and objects. It also enhances good listening and vocabulary skills and improves memory. Toddlers often have a favorite book, and if read repeatedly, will mimic the words and sounds, which eventually moves from babbling to real words.
Emotions – Think about how your voice changes during the story when the characters are happy, sad, angry, silly; or how your voice might be higher or lower when “speaking” for different characters of a story. Not only does it up the entertainment value of the time together, but it will also help baby hear and recognize different emotions and expressions and aid them in becoming emotionally aware of tones and moods.
Critical Thinking – Encourage your child to look, point, touch, and question during story time. A child who is granted time to be curious improves his skills in process, thinking, and prediction. For a favorite book that is read over and over, try skipping a page or section, just to see if your child takes notice. Chances are, she will notice and want you to read what was missed!
Ideas to promote reading:
Create a time and space for reading together. A comfortable chair, some pillows on the floor, or a cozy nook; it doesn’t need to be fancy, just inviting.
Use board books for babies and toddlers so they can also “read” the books for themselves without ripping pages.
Utilize your local library. Most libraries have designated story times and summer reading programs with incentives. They are a great resource for free books to borrow, which makes reading interesting and diverse.
Enroll in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Your child will receive free books in the mail – what a great resource to grow their own personal library. To enroll, visit https://imaginationlibrary.com/
Get grandparents, siblings, and caregivers involved. Children love spending time with Mom & Dad but will certainly love having a variety of other readers to show them the value of story time.
Wrap Up
The PLC Health Clinic would love to help you learn more about bonding with your little one through reading and story time. If you have more questions or would like to connect with our staff, please contact us at 918-238-9177 or www.plchealthclinic.org.
*References available upon request.
