Your child’s early years of learning are critical to developing a lifelong passion for reading. While preschool teachers will formally introduce your little one to reading, it’s never too early to start reading to your child and fostering that love of words.
Read together every single day
Read to your child every day and make it a warm, loving time of day. Bedtime is a great time of day for reading together, as it can help your child peacefully fall asleep.
Give every object a name
Comprehension skills can be developed very early on, even for babies under a year old. Play games that involve naming or pointing to objects. Touching your child’s nose and asking “What’s this?” is a great way to start building comprehension.
Tell them how much you like reading together
Tell your child how much you enjoy reading with them. Look forward to the time together and tell them about it. Make sure your little one knows how important “story time” is to you.
Talk about the writing
Teach your child to pay attention the way writing works. When looking at a book, point out we read from left to right and the way words are separated by spaces.
Point out words wherever you see them
Discuss the written words you see around you. Respond with interest to your child’s questions about words. Try asking them to find a new word every time you go out.
Make your voice animated
Read with humor and expression. Use different voices for different characters and just have fun with it. Your child will love it.
Stop when they’re disinterested
If your little one loses interest, just put the book away for awhile. They won’t enjoy the experience if they’re having trouble paying attention and you try to force it.
Be interactive
Engage your child so they actively listen to the story. Discuss what’s going on, point out things on the page and answer questions. Ask your own questions and listen to responses.
Read it over and over
Your child will probably want to hear their favorite story more than once, so go ahead and read it 100,000 times—even if you’re tired of it. Research has proven that repeated readings help children develop language skills.
