Reading is one of the most fundamental life skills that your baby will learn, and it is never too early to start. Reading with your baby will help to boost their vocabulary and improve their listening skills, and it can also be a lot of fun.
If you want to make reading into a fun and rewarding activity for your baby, there are a few things that you can do to get started. These simple tips will help you and your baby to both enjoy reading together even more.
Choose a Suitable Book
Your baby will enjoy books that he or she can touch, feel, and chew, so choose some books with a hard cover or some that are made from cloth as these will last a lot longer. Books filled with bright, bold colors and patterns are great for stimulating your baby, so try and look for books like these rather than books that contain too much text.
Develop a Reading Routine
Babies like to know what is coming next, so try and fit reading into your evening routine somewhere. If you can fit a reading session in at the same time every evening, your baby will come to look forward to this special moment in the day.
Make it Personal
Reading should never be a chore, and ideally you should make your reading sessions into a bonding experience for you and your baby. Get up close and cuddle as you read aloud, because reading at this age is as much about the moment they are sharing with you as it is about the book you are reading.
If they are safe and secure in your arms and listening to your voice, they will start to associate reading with something positive and enjoyable and they will begin to enjoy it more.
Treat Books as Toys
When your baby is very young, try to treat books as toys. Keep them in the same place as the other toys, and when your baby wants to play with a toy, hand them a book to explore. Your baby will then start to see books as something fun, especially if they can handle and chew them just like their other toys.
Be Interactive
Instead of just reading out the words of the story and getting to the end as fast as possible, point to the pictures, ask your baby what they can see, describe the scene, make noises, sing, put on funny voices, and try to bring the book to life.
Enjoy Reading with Your Baby
Reading is such an important activity for your baby, so follow the advice above and start to make reading books together even more enjoyable. Perhaps the best tip of all is to make sure that you have fun yourself. By seeing that you are having fun, your baby will realize that reading is an enjoyable activity, and he or she will get more out of it as a result.
How to Make Reading with Your Baby Fun and Rewarding