When Should I Start Reading to My Baby? We asked Usborne author and editor, Zanna Davidson for her insight into reading. Many parents ask when they should start reading to their little one. Here are Zanna’s thoughts…..
It’s never too early to start reading to your baby. Even before a baby has begun talking, their brain will be absorbing words in a way that will help develop vocabulary. Babies will also enjoy the rhythm and sound of your voice, stimulating their hearing and their listening skills.
In the first three months, this means you can read anything to your baby – a news article, your favourite novel, a poem, a recipe, a song. It doesn’t matter what the words are. It’s more the connection you are forming – quiet time together, the sound of your voice, your focus on your little one.
What sort of books should I look for?
For the first three months, a baby will be drawn to high contrast images. Sturdy black and white baby board or cloth books, or those with bright colours, will help capture and focus a baby’s attention. Babies are also drawn to faces, more than pattern. Look for books, or any media, with high-contrast faces.
From three to six months, books that have added pattern and textures will start to hold your baby’s attention, as their eyesight starts to be able to take in smaller details. As you read, encourage interaction by asking questions and looking for things on the page. Some of the best baby books will do this for you, providing prompts, characters or objects to search for, action rhymes and a sense of fun and play.
By eight months, a baby’s vision is almost at adult levels, so books with lots of colour will start to make a real impression, along with even more fun details to spot. And as your baby becomes more aware of the world around them, books can become even more interactive – there are book with sturdy cardboard flaps to lift and peek under, felt flaps for peekaboo, books with trails to follow for little fingers, tabs to pull, wheels to spin and books full of textures, to touch and explore – even better if they come with familiar, repetitive or rhyming text.
Why should I read to my baby?
Starting to read with your baby from the beginning will also be habit-forming – the earlier you begin, the more likely you are to carry on, as it becomes an embedded and comforting part of your routine. You don’t have to keep books just for bedtime – they can be a fun part of play during the day, a quiet time out, as well as a soothing experience before bed. But most of all, this is your magic time together – the beginning of your shared escape to magical worlds, diving into pictures, discovering rhymes, lullabies and stories, exploring together in a way that will bond you for years to come.
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