Tuesday tip for reading - reading with babies and young toddlers

A few days ago, I had an e-mail conversation with an old friend from high school who is an avid reader, writer and mother to a darling baby girl.  She mentioned that she knew it was important to read to her daughter, but was curious as to why.  Her infant is just learning concepts like object permanence - the knowledge that an object such as a ball, rattle or mom and dad still exists when out of sight.  What does reading, she wondered, offer to a child so young?

Hers is an excellent question, one which I think many more people have than are willing to admit.  So this week’s Tuesday tip for reading attempts to answer my friend’s query.  Why should we read to babies, and what is the best way to go about it?

To find out more about this topic, I turned to Reading is Fundamental.  RIF is a non-profit literacy organization dedicated to the advancement of literacy in the lives of children. Founded in 1966, the organization “prepares and motivates children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those children and families who need them most.”

According to RIF, reading aloud to babies is integral to an infant’s cognitive and motor development.  First, when parents read to their babies, infants hear their favorite adults’ voices and associate books with positive emotions.  This makes reading a pleasant endeavor from the very beginning, setting the stage for positive reading experiences in the future.  Reading aloud to infants also sets sensory development in motion.  Babies use all of their senses when reading: they hear the spoken words, see the images on the page, feel the textures of the binding and smell and taste the book when it inevitably ends up in the mouth.  As infants become more communicative, they mimic the words that are read to them.  This heightens the proto-linguistic nature of their coos and babbles and reinforces language development.  Lastly, reading aloud helps babies recognize that objects have names – they connect words they hear to the images they see. 

Reading aloud to infants, then, is not a fruitless or passive endeavor.  The act of sharing a book with a baby strengthens parent-child bonds and provides positive sensory stimulation necessary for proper development.  How should parents make the most of this opportunity with their children?  Reading is Fundamental shares these read aloud tips for parents of infants and young toddlers:

• Hold the baby in your lap; make sure he or she can see the pictures.

• Play with words, sing, and make up rhymes; include the baby's name.

• Expect babies to touch, grasp, and taste -- that is how they learn.

• Offer the baby a toy to hold and chew while listening to you read.

• Read one or two pages at a time; gradually lengthen the number of pages.

• Let the baby turn the pages if he or she is more interested in the book than listening to you read. He or she will still be learning about books and enjoying your company.

• Point to, name, and talk about things in pictures. Describe what's happening.

• Ask the baby: "Where's the...?" "What's that...?" Wait for a response.

• Encourage a baby to join in -- moo like a cow or finish a repetitive phrase.

• Stay on a page as long as a baby is interested.

• Put the book away and do something else when the baby loses interest.

 

RIF’s literacy information for infants and young toddlers puts a concrete face on abstract ideas that parents inherently understand but have difficulty putting into words.  Thanks to the organization’s information and helpful tips, we can rest assured that reading truly is fundamental, even for the youngest child.