Reading
to Baby
The
Why, What and How
Reading to Baby: The
How?
When reading to baby how can you
help
foster in them a love for reading?
Lucy reading with her Grandma
Here
are some ideas on reading with baby that will help your baby develop a love for reading.
- When reading to baby always choose a good time.
- Keep your sessions short and sweet.
- Use a soft and animated sing song voice.
- Read and re-read the same books to your
baby.
- Make the stories your own.
- Make sure your baby can see the pictures.
- Help your baby turn the pages.
- Point to the text as you read.
- Keep reading fun and enjoyable.
- Make your own books to share with your
baby.
- When reading to baby always
choose a good time.
Take your cues from them. You want your reading sessions to
be
positive experiences, so choose times of the day when you want to help
your baby wind down and be calm and relaxed. Before going to
bed
or after a busy playtime can be the best times.
- Keep
your sessions short and sweet.
Your baby only has a short attention span so once again you need to
observe your baby as you read and take your cues from them.
Your baby may want you to change books before you have even
finished reading it. That is ok it is not necessary for your
baby
to hear each book to the end.
- Use
a soft and animated sing song voice.
Your
voice helps your baby to engage in the book you
are reading. As your baby gets older different characters in
the
story can have different voices. If you need any help you
could
ask your public librarian to model a great story time session for you.
- Read
and re-read the same books to your baby.
It
is wonderful to
have some favourite books. Books were never meant to be read
just
once. It is important to enjoy the same books over and over
as
this familiarity is comforting to your baby and helps to foster in them
a love for books.
- Make
the stories your own.
You do not have to read the exact text on the page. They
really
are just suggestions from the author. You could look at the
pictures and make up your own text and story as you go.
- Make
sure your baby can see the pictures.
Hold the book so your baby can see it. Understanding that
babies
can read makes it even more important to include your baby in the
reading process. Pictures tell a
story.
Involve your baby in the story by pointing out things in the
pictures and asking them questions about what they can see in the
pictures. This helps the story and book come alive to your
baby.
- Help
your baby turn the pages.
A book can be a very tactile experience....well the cloth, bath and
board books for the new baby anyway. Let your baby hold the
book
if it is appropriate and as they get older encourage them to turn the
pages of the book. Each time you turn the page say "Turn the
page". You are teaching your baby about reading and how we do
it.
- Point
to the text as you read.
You do not need to do this all the time and for every book but as your
baby grows older you can do this to show them that you are reading the
words. This helps prepare them to learn about the concepts of
print: that reading goes from left to right, each word you
say
has a word in the book, the difference between letters, and words etc.
- Keep
reading fun and enjoyable.
You
may like to have a special place where you keep
your books and where you read to really help reading and books hold
their magic. Value this time together. Encourage
lots of
different people to read to your baby.
 Libraries
are wonderful places to take your baby. Now that
you
know that babies can read then it is a must that your baby has his own
library card!
When my son
was
born I was given a gift pack by the hospital and in this pack the
library gave me forms to fill in for him to get his own
library card as well as a black and white contrast book. If only every
hospital did this!
My son Jamie at our library.
Find
out
about story times at your library,
they
are a fun, free activity to do together.
- Make
your own books to share with your baby.
Learn how you can create
a baby book or make
a family photo book.
These make reading to baby an even more fun and personal experience.
Learn more
about reading to your baby:
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