Discover The Many Benefits Of Reading To Infants And Teaching Them To Love Books

By Karina Frost


Reading with one's child, no matter how young he or she is, is a true example of quality time. It helps build a close parent/child relationship and stimulates the baby's emotional and intellectual growth in a variety of ways. When parents recognize these benefits of reading to infants, they should make a point of incorporating this activity into their baby's day.

Reading aloud to a baby as soon as he or she is born is a great ritual to incorporate into the child's routine. This important time spent in the close company of the parent serves as an ideal opportunity for bonding and intimacy to develop. The child has the full attention of mom or dad and will grow to look forward to snuggling up for a story every day.

Even when the baby is too young to understand what is being read, he or she is still being exposed to a variety of words, which helps build a vocabulary. It also makes him or her aware of the basic elements of speech such as the tones, inflections, and rhythm patterns present in the words being read by the parent. Children who are introduced to sounds and words early, are more likely to read on their own when they are older.

In addition to boosting a young child's rudimentary language skills, it has also been connected to stimulating their critical thinking and mathematical skills. Children who are read to often from infancy on, have been shown to speak earlier and have a better grasp of linguistic concepts than those who are seldom read to. Eventually, as the baby gains an understanding of the sounds and pictures, he or she will begin to respond with interest and excitement.

Stories also introduce children to the abstract concept of emotions and feelings. This is apparent not only on an explicit level in the narrative of the book, but is also implied by the tone of the parent's voice. The significance of the visual aspects of a book should also be acknowledged, as the baby sees various colors, shapes, letters, and patterns, it helps further their sensory and cognitive processes.

A regular nightly "storytime" can also help the child sleep better, and the parents too for that matter. The sound of the parent's voice will naturally relax the baby after a busy day full of activity, and in many cases the child will nod off before mom or dad even finishes the story.

Building a personal book collection for the child is important. Books should be suited to the baby's age, generally the younger the child, the more indestructible his or her books should be since babies are known to be tough on them. Many are made of durable vinyl or cloth for this purpose. Young children are most captivated by simple verses or single words, colorful illustrations, and in some, different textures.

As the child grows older, he or she will start to participate more actively in storytime and will begin to point out objects, imitating sounds, and responding with meaning to what is being read. All of this lays the foundation for the child to see books as something valuable and enjoy reading on his or her own.




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