“Reading is fundamental and essential”. We all know this but, when it comes to infancy or toddlerhood, we generally go by the following thoughts or perspective:
“My baby isn’t even talking yet!”
“I don’t know what to read.”
“I thought it wasn’t a good idea to push a child – can’t reading wait till school?”
Do you hold any of the above? If yes – then, spare few minutes and read on….
Reading to your child does not mean “teaching him/her how to read”. Reading, on the other hand, exposes your child to more words as he/she hears and processes them. This, as we all will agree is critical in developing the overall intelligence. Being read to, also lays the path for skills involved later in actual reading.
Reading to a child is one such strategy that provides auditory stimulation to the brain, when it needs the most. (In the first years of life, a child’s brain is particularly most alert to changes in sounds). A second important thing which reading does is, as I mentioned above, is to increase the total number of words your baby hears. Reading with pointing enables your child to relate the words, its meaning and the sound it produces when spoken. Also, reading books introduces objects that may not appear in a child’s daily life – Giraffe, Train, Jungle, Snow etc. This exposure increases a child’s concept development.
And, most importantly, it’s this direct interaction between you and your child during reading times, that increases their attention span, children feel more secured and loved, allowing them to relax and be more receptive to learning.
When to Start?
Reading should start when your baby reaches 4 months. This age is ideal for lap reading. Before this a baby can enjoy the sounds of your voice, but lacks the vision to really see the pages and enjoy the colors, and also he/she can’t reach out and touch the pages. By 6 to 7 months, his/her full range of vision is well established, therefore soft cloth or plastic books can be introduced into your baby’s world.
In the beginning, it doesn’t matter much what you read. With your clear voice and a proper tone, you can easily interest your 4 months old. By 6 months, a baby’s brain has created permanent neural pathways that can differentiate the subtle sounds and rhythmic text of the book. By about 12 months, babies finally recognize and have cognitive meaning for words and are ready to take pleasure in story books.
Reading should be a daily ritual and not a special event. Babies at this age have short attention span, so it’s better to read for short period (5 minutes), two or three times a day instead of 30 minutes at once.
How to Start?
4 months onwards
At first, babies are more interested in fondling with the book rather than looking at the picture or hearing the words. This is normal and age appropriate. Don’t discourage it! Slowly your baby may want to randomly turn the pages, often going back and forth. There’s no need to force your young reader to go in a particular order. He/she is collecting data and enjoying in his/her own special way. Best is to provide sturdy board books, cloth books or plastic bathtub books.
6 months onwards
You can enrich the reading experience, if you add little fun with it. Try giving the characters different voices, alter your tone, play with different emotions, sing the text and most importantly, be “enthusiastic” as if, this is the best story and the best time you can ever have!!
18 months onwards
Story book reading is the most effective way; parents can help children learn to make connection between the spoken and written words. Often, parents become frustrated with story time when their child does not respond enthusiastically. The solution to this is “Dialogic Reading”. It means having a dialogue about the story as you proceed. Pause in between to ask your child questions like,
“What is Cinderella doing?”
“How many elves are there?”
“What kind of animals do you think will be there on next page?”
“Did that make you sad? Me too”.
Don’t get on your nerves if you only have to provide the answers. Again, this is normal, so continue doing it as this will only lay path for skills involved in future reading and learning.
It’s a good idea to invest in some books you can have to read over and over. Children at this age learn new things each time they hear the same story and look at the pictures. Repeated reading encourages children to retell the story in their own sweet way.
Lastly, become a role-model yourself in how you handle books, value books and read them, which can go a long way in helping your child to fall in love with them. So, let your child see you read.
“What You Say Will Speak To Your Child,
What You Do Will Scream To Them”
Comments