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Early childhood developmental experts
agree that reading to infants,
toddlers, and young children is a
highly recommended activity for fun
and cognitive development. Here are
some of the benefits of reading to
your child:
• Helps lay the foundation for
speech and language skills
• Connects you with your child
intellectually, emotionally, and
physically
• Promotes a positive attitude toward learning to read when your child is developmentally
ready to do so (This will be positively reinforced if your child also
sees that you enjoy reading yourself.)
• Encourages your child to use her imagination
Tips for Reading to Your Child
• Think of reading to an infant as a total sensory experience. Even though your
baby may comprehend nothing of what is being read, she loves the sound of
your voice, the smell and feel of your body as you hold her, the feel and taste
of the book, the sight of the colors and shapes on the pages, and the sight of
facial expressions you make as you read. Infants particularly enjoy books with
lots of textures to feel like Pat the Bunny. Books for infants should be sturdy
(usually with thick cardboard pages) to resist the gnawing and sucking on
them that will occur. And they should not have pointed or sharp edges.
• You and your child should both feel comfortable during reading sessions. A
rocking chair is ideal for this activity.
• Read slowly and with lots of expression and emotion. Vary the volume of
your voice, don’t hesitate to exaggerate or repeat interesting sounds, and add
your own comments along the way. Young children love rhymes—before you
know it, your child will be chiming in with the rhyming word at the end of
the sentence.
• Encourage your infant to look at the pictures. Say the names of objects, people,
and animals as you point them out on the pages. Make the sounds of the
animals and objects in the book.
• Take cues for reading strategies from your child. Give her a chance to imitate
sounds or words as you read. Encourage her to point out or name colors,
shapes, sizes, and so on. Let her make the sounds of the animals and talk about
the emotions of the characters (is the boy happy or sad?). As your child’s
comprehension increases, discuss the story with her after you have finished
reading.
• Don’t approach reading sessions as an attempt to push your child to learn to
read earlier. With reading, as with many other aspects of development, individual
children proceed at their own pace. Attempts to drill your preschool
child on reading skills before she is developmentally ready and interested will
usually result in frustration for both of you. This can undermine your child’s
self-esteem and may cause her to resist learning to read later on. In addition,
studies have shown that early readers don’t tend to maintain their advantage
when they enter school, anyway. Those children who haven’t started to read
before school entry typically catch up with the early readers by the end of first
grade.
• Check out the children’s section of your local library. Many offer story times
as well as good advice on books for all ages.
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