It’s well known that shared reading with your baby or toddler has huge benefits for their social and intellectual development, not to mention their vocabulary.
But did you know that reading with your child can have positive influences from as young as two weeks old? We’re joined by Kayleigh Thornton from Reading Fairy Isleworth, who’s here to explain why it’s never too late to start reading with your baby or toddler and how to do this if you’re short on time and ideas.
Why Is Reading With Your Baby or Toddler From An Early Age So Important?
The Book Trust recently reported that although 95% of parents know the importance of reading to their children, only 42% of children have a bedtime story. They also reported that one in five children aged 0-4 years have a book read to them less than once a month.
At Reading Fairy we encourage reading for pleasure and we start early to build the foundations for confident readers. In my house, books are part of our daily routine, and I wanted to share with you three important reasons to start reading to your children from an early age, and five top tips to start that journey.
So do you read with your children? Would you like to start? It’s never too early to start to start shared reading with your baby, toddler or child. And here’s why.
1. Reading Together Releases Oxytocin
When you snuggle up with your little one it strengthens the bond between you. The hormone oxytocin is released and you feel safe and loved. Later in life your child will associate feeling great with reading and will choose to read for fun.
2. Shared Reading With A Baby Or Toddler Boosts Educational Attainment
Reading improves vocabulary, concentration and memory, so being confident at reading is linked to educational attainment. Research has shown that children tend to make progress across all areas of the school curriculum when they are good readers. This means that reading for pleasure is a key indicator of future success.
3. Reading Together Promotes Emotional Wellbeing
Sharing stories with your child helps develop their emotional intelligence as well as creating a time and space to switch off from the world and get lost in adventures. So reading books with your children can help with their imagination and empathy.
Are you convinced? But not sure where to start? Read on for my five top tips on starting your reading journey with your child.
1. Read Anywhere
You can read books on the go, anywhere you go: you don’t have to just read stories at bedtime or at home. I used to take a few board books out when we went to the doctors, coffee shop or on a train and get them out for the children to explore. My children are now older and will often pack a book with them when we head out to different places. Bath books are also a fab resource. Babies and toddlers can explore them at their own pace, with no worries about getting them wet.
2. Read Anything
Reading aloud is not always the most comfortable thing for a parent to do. When your children are young you can read anything to them: a recipe, a news article, a page from the book you are reading, leaflets and posters. The aim is to create a shared reading experience that is pleasurable for them so they are more likely to choose to pick up a book for pleasure when they are older
3. Read For As Long As You Can
Don’t worry if your little one’s attention span is short. Sometimes sharing books might be two minutes, sometimes it might be 20 minutes. Go with the pace of your child and don’t have an agenda. Even just ten minutes of shared reading time with your little one can create fantastic bonds and calming close time together.
4. Make Reading Fun
Does your little one choose the same book each time? Make it fun by changing voices, pitch or volume. Add in some sing-song voices or change the words to see if they notice. You can also make up stories with the pictures, allowing older toddlers to choose the ending. If you’re not super into the idea of making voices and getting a little bit dramatic with it, you could always try a Storytime class where the fun and theatrics will be done for you!
5. Change Up Your Reading Space
Sometimes when we are in the house, the day-to-day routine gets in the way of making time to read. So change it up. The best place to change it up is the local library. My children still love a trip to the library. It’s one of the only things that is totally FREE and they get to explore different types of books. Most children’s areas have seating so take some time to choose and share a book you may not have chosen before. Some of my children’s favourite books have come from our trips to the library.
So what are you waiting for? Grab a book, or magazine or comic and introduce your child to the wonders that stories can bring.
If you read a book every day to your child, by the time they are five years old they will have been read to 1825 times.
What a thought!
Now realistically this would be Dear Zoo 300 times, The Gruffalo 150 times, WOW! Said the Owl 73 times, Stick Man 243 times, Supertato 200 times, That’s Not My…..457 times, Each Peach Pear Plum 236 times and The Dinosaur Who Pooped series 166 times!
Happy reading!
Thanks To Kayleigh Thornton
Kayleigh Thornton from Reading Fairy Isleworth is an early reading expert who runs Reading Fairy classes for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers in Isleworth, West London. Reading Fairy focuses on learning through play with nursery rhymes, interactive songs and picture books. You can book classes with Reading Fairy through Happity here
Want to get out and about, have fun with your baby or toddler, and meet other parents?
Search Happity to find everything that’s happening for the under-5’s in your local area – from music and singing classes, to messy play, arts and crafts, baby massage, gymnastics and more. Simply enter your postcode and child’s age to search, and then book your spot in a few taps. Enjoy dedicated fun time with your little one, watch their skills develop, and make friends at the same time. Mums, dads, grandparents and carers will all find something to love!
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