As a parent, you have the chance to rediscover your taste in children’s books. You’ve been reading a long time, and you have a sense of what you like in grown-up books. Sit close, and enjoy these moments of connection while it’s still light outside. Offering to read books with toddlers is one of the best ways - some days, it can seem like the only way - to get them to slow down and focus. But read with your toddler during the day, as well. Nightly bedtime reading is a familiar routine for parents of toddlers - what better way to get your little ball of energy to relax before bed? Make sure the atmosphere is soothing and not rushed, and choose some of the many books that end, strategically, with a peaceful going-to-bed scene (though friskier books about sleep-avoiding children are fun, too). You are helping build a positive association with books that will last a lifetime. What’s more, when you read out loud, your toddler connects books with the familiar, beloved sound of your voice - and the physical closeness that reading together brings. When you read with toddlers, they take it all in: vocabulary and language structure, numbers and math concepts, colors, shapes, animals, opposites, manners and all kinds of useful information about how the world works. It’s hard to overestimate how important reading is to a toddler’s intellectual, social and emotional development. There’s a straight line from this moment to your first parent-child book club. It may make no sense to you, but it’s communication. Try it: If your child make a noise, respond. This is why many books for this age contain nonsense words or animal sounds - they’re easier to mimic. Babies may start making sounds in response to your reading. And the patterns, routines and attentive habits that are set now will last a lifetime. It may seem like babies are not listening, but they are absorbing the experience. Make eye contact, but don’t look for a particular reaction. Try it: Texturized books are especially good for your child’s tactile experience. Babies who are read to are learning that reading is fun and can involve all the senses: the feel of the pages, the smell of the glue (don’t go crazy), the visuals of the illustrations, the sound of the parent’s voice. Sure, it’s good to get started reading aloud the children’s books that will be part of your child’s library. Turning on a television, or even an audiobook, doesn’t count. But here’s the catch: The language has to be live, in person and directed at the child. Research has shown that the number of words an infant is exposed to has a direct impact on language development and literacy. What does matter is the sound of your voice, the cadence of the text and the words themselves. You can read anything to a newborn: a cookbook, a dystopian novel, a parenting manual. Even newborns benefit from the experience of hearing stories (and they can’t complain about your taste in books). You may think you’re off the hook with books until your baby is at least vertical, but not so.
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