Get your child to fall in love with reading at an early age.

Shared from Parents.com

The Benefits of Reading to Your Baby

Reading is a healthy habit that parents should encourage well before their baby’s first birthday. The bonding experience is unbeatable, says Patricia Cowan, national program coordinator for Reach Out and Read, a project that gives children books during medical checkups. When you read to children, they’re getting your full attention, and that’s what they just love. Nothing — no TV show or toy — is better than that.

Research has come out that appears to confirm the value of reading to young kids. For example, babies and young children who are not read to at home by a relative will face a “million-word gap” by the time they go to school. That’s because reading out loud creates the opportunity for kids to build their vocabulary, and without that precious time to hear, say, and build pre-literacy skills to eventually read those words, they may lose out.

But while it is important to read to your child every day, it may equally be important what you read to your child. We know that reading to babies and toddlers helps them develop logical thinking, pre-literacy, communication, and emotional intelligence skills, and much of that happens by choosing age-appropriate books that challenge your child.

With that in mind, here’s an age-by-age guide to getting your kids hooked on books.

When to Start Reading to Your Baby

Reading to babies is also a great way to immerse them in the sounds and rhythms of speech, which is crucial for language development. In a study at Brown University School of Medicine in Providence, Rhode Island, 18- to 25-month-olds whose parents said they had been reading to them regularly for a year could say and understand more words than those whose parents hadn’t. In other words, it’s never too early to start ready to your baby, so here are some tips for making that happen.

Birth to 12 Months 

Birth to 6 months 

Since an infant’s vision is still developing, you can start reading to your baby with little or no text and big, high-contrast pictures. Also, consider books with interactive stuff, such as puppets, mirrors, or peepholes, recommends Pamela High, MD, author of the Brown University reading study and a professor of pediatrics there. The more ways you both have to enjoy a book, the better. If you’d like, read to your baby from grown-up books or magazines too. Comprehending the words isn’t really the point with babies this young.

For infants, reading is about the tone of your voice and cuddling up to you. Here are a few books to read the next time you’re snuggled up together:

• Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
• Look! Look! by Peter Linenthal
• Baby Beluga by Raffi
• Little Poems for Tiny Ears by Lin Oliver

7 to 12 months

Halfway through their first year, babies may begin to grasp some of the words read to them, says Cosby Rogers, Ph.D., a professor of human development at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The most meaningful words are the names and things from their everyday life — words like “doggy,” “mommy,” “daddy,” “milk,” or “bottle.”

Books with just one object or person per age are best; hearing you name something they can recognize reinforces your baby’s vocabulary and slowly helps them realize that illustrations stand for real things. Point to the pictures your baby shows interest in. And act out what you read with your face, hands, and voice. Let your baby babble back to you in return, suggests Dr. Rogers. This “conversation” helps them learn to take turns and teaches them about focusing on the same thing as someone else.

As a practical tip, babies this age tend to be hard on their playthings, so try sticking mostly to board books, which can take rough handling (and even chewing!). Cloth or vinyl books are good, too, though turning the pages can be challenging for a baby. Touch and feel type books are super fun, but be sure to avoid any with ribbons, buttons, or other small choking hazards that can easily detatch with a good yank.