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Reading to your baby

importance of reading to babies and toddlers

Reading to your baby from a young age is amazing for their brain development. We know, from lots of research, that little ones who have early exposure to books have better language acquisition and cognitive processing speeds that have a positive impact on their education so you really are helping build your little one’s brain!

Introducing books to your baby is something you can do from birth and it is great to have as part of your daily routine. Many of our parents tell us that they haven’t introduced books to their little one because they can’t understand the story yet, and while this is true it doesn’t mean that they are not learning.

reading helps your baby develop

 

  • language skills

  • cognitive processing skills

  • visual skills including tracking and visual discrimination skills

  • listening skills and attention

  • motor skills as they co-ordinate their eye muscles and hand to eye co-ordination they help turn pages

  • communication skills

We also know that children who are read to every day have been shown to be almost 12 months ahead of their age group when they start school, it really does help to build brains and shows the importance of reading to babies.

our top tips for reading to your little one

 

  • Start today – dig out a book, cuddle your baby and spend some time together

  • Think about books that have repetitive language patterns – ‘that’s not my’ books by usborne books are great for this

  • Match a book with a toy like we have in our images, that way you can have really authentic conversations with your baby about what they are looking at. You can pick a yellow toy to match the colour of the book cover or a toy that features in a book, for example we have a book that has a ladybird on the last page, when we get to it the ladybird finger puppet appears, it builds anticipation!

  • Pick a book with texture to add more opportunity for sensory development

  • Read the same books often, repetition really is amazing for brain development

  • Think about the time of day you read together, when your little one is alert and active might not be the best time to get their full attention, choose a quieter time when your little one is calm

  • Think of their position when you are reading, lying beside them, cuddling or in tummy time are great positions for reading

  • Choose contrast image books for younger babies to help develop their visual skills

  • Make it part of your daily routine, read a book before bed or before a nap at a quiet time.

  • Get others involved in reading too, listening to lots of different voices is an amazing opportunity to concentrate on developing those listening and language skills

     

Have lots of fun and as always ensure that your little one is safe at all times, keep them in eye-sight and arms reach when playing!

Free baby and books play pack!

We have a free play pack for you all about babies and books and how to incorporate stories into play. 

 

You are really welcome to click the image below to be sent your free copy!