Reading to your Baby

** I wrote this post orginally for another blog that was posted Feb. 26, 2021 and now posting to my personal blog **

In celebration of "Read Across America" Day next week (March 2), let's talk about the importance of reading! It is also National "tell a fairytale day" today - a good day to pick up a favourite fairytale to read. 

It is never too early or too late to start reading to your child. Although, did you know that the benefits of reading to your children can start before they are even born!

Around 18 weeks of pregnancy your baby will be able to start hearing their first sounds and their hearing will rapidly develop during the next few weeks to be able to recognize voices. When you talk and read to your unborn baby, you are already starting a bonding experience with them. How exciting to know that they will recognize your voice right when they are born! Reading to your baby early in your pregnancy also allows you time to relax and de-stress which benefits both you and your baby.

If you feel strange reading out loud on your own, have a sibling, grandparent or your partner join in for a story time and take turns reading. This will also allow for other people who will be important in your child’s life to connect with the baby, and baby will also start to recognize their voices, too.

During pregnancy, your baby’s brain is developing rapidly and storing information for future use. This is one reason why it is important to eat healthy during your pregnancy. Reading to your baby in the womb promotes brain activity and can promote early literacy skills and language development.

Literacy skills continue to develop while reading to your baby after they are born. Even though a baby is not able to talk, they are learning about the world around them. When you read to them, you are helping them understand concepts such as numbers, letters, colours and shapes; they are learning how to communicate and building their vocabulary. 

Reading also facilitates bonding between parent and child and continues to build attachment and trust. Once your little one is about four months old, they will start grabbing for objects including books, and it won’t be long until they will start to want to turn pages on their own. Board and cloth books are great for babies and toddlers to explore on their own and with a caregiver. By about 12 months, children may start showing a preference for certain books and enjoy choosing a book to read. They often love repetition at this age so don’t be surprised if you find yourself reading the same book over and over. This is typical for toddlers and will support language development and story & word recognition.

At a time when our world is becoming more digital and e-books are gaining in popularity, print books still seem to be the preference for young children. While any form of reading will be beneficial for your child, young children are often more engaged while reading print books versus e-books. There also tends to be more interaction between parent and child while reading a print book. In reading an e-book, babies and young children may become distracted by buttons and screens on a digital device that will limit their engagement with the story being read.

 I love snuggling up with my children and reading a print book to them. It allows an opportunity for us to interact and talk about pictures as well as reading and pointing to words. Having them hold books and turn pages also helps in developing fine motor skills and learn about different textures. Educators have also found that children who have print books in their home are more interested in reading and learning than those who do not.

Here are some things to look for in books for babies and toddlers: 

• Follows a rythem/rhyming pattern - This is an important part of early literacy as it helps young children in developing listening skills. It also helps children to recall and retell the story and eventually to recognize words.
• Uses simple words -  This helps with building comprehension skills. Once the child's vocabulary grows, they also build confidence by "reading" the book themselves. 
• Point and label books - These types of books are great at helping children increase their vocabulary and develop word and picture association. 

If you have a child and reading is something that you haven’t engaged in much, it’s never too late. Grab a book and plan to sit down and read together today. Reading words and talking about pictures in books will go a long way to help build your child’s brain.

What are some benefits you have recognized from reading to your child?