Children whose parents speak / read often know more words by the age of 2 than other children. Children who have been given the reading beforehand will be able to learn to read at the right time. When your baby hears you use a lot of different emotional and expressive sounds, which can aid social and emotional development. Reading also invites your baby to see, touch, and answer questions, all of which increase social sensitivity and thinking skills. Your baby’s abilities will improve by imitating sounds, recognizing pictures, and learning words. But perhaps the most important reason to read aloud is that it improves the relationship between you and your baby. Spending time reading to your baby shows that reading is a valuable learning skill.
1. Different Stages
At certain ages of babies may not know the pictures in the book, but babies will focus on bright colors. When you read or sing a lullaby, you can comfort and soothe your baby. On age 4 and by 6 months, your baby may begin to show a greater interest in his books. Your baby will grab and hold the book, and drop the book. Choose a book cover in bright colors to catch his eye. Between 6 and 12 months of age, your child begins to understand that pictures represent objects or stories and will likely develop a preference for specific images, pages, or even entire stories. Your baby will respond when you read, reach for books and imitate your voice.
2. How to Read
Here’s the great thing about reading aloud, no need for special skills or equipment, just you, your baby, and a few books. Read aloud for several minutes at a time, but do it often. Don’t worry about finishing an entire book focus on pages that you and your baby enjoy. Try to set aside time to read every day as possible before napping and going to bed. This will help to calm your baby and set a schedule for when it is time for bed. Choose a time when your baby is relaxing, books are also useful when you and baby are playing. So that learning is more fun.
Here are some additional reading tips:
- Cuddling while you read helps your baby feel safe, warm and connected to you.
- Read with an expression, throwing your voice higher or lower which is appropriate or using different voices for different characters.
- Don’t worry about following the text of the book. Stop every now and then and ask a question or make a comment on a picture or text.
- Sing rhymes, make funny animal sounds that make them memorable fun.
- Babies enjoy learning from repetition, so don’t be afraid to read the same book over and over. As you do so, repeat the same emphasis each time as you did when singing his favorite song.
