Benefits of Reading to Your Baby
Books are one of the most basic tools of effective communication between parents and children. You should introduce the books that are very useful in the language development of the baby to your baby in a short time.
Reading a book is as much a cultural act as it is a mental act. When the habit of reading books is gained at a young age, it will be inevitable for your child to be one step ahead of those who do not read books when he becomes an adult.
Before moving on to the benefits of reading to your baby, you should know that parents have a great responsibility in this regard. Babies may not understand everything you say, but you don’t have to wait for your baby to grow up to talk to him.
Reading to your baby is only the beginning of productive activities you will spend with him. It provides a much better quality of communication between parents and children.
When a baby turns 1, he will have learned all the sounds in his mother tongue, so reading a lot of books to him will contribute to learning more different sounds.
The earlier you start reading to your baby, the sooner you can take action to speed up his development.
Children who are read by their parents during their infancy learn more words than their peers when they are 2 years old.
Benefits of reading to baby;
It teaches the baby communication in the early period.
It enables them to learn information in a fun way by using colors, numbers, letters and shapes.
It triggers the development of memory and vocabulary, and the ability to listen.
It allows the baby to learn about what is happening around him.
Reading plays an important role in the formation of your baby’s social and emotional character. It helps detect intonation differences and accents in your voice.
What should be the ideal book selection for different ages?
Very young babies do not understand what pictures in books mean, but they are quite good at focusing. The bright colors, smileys and patterns in the pictures attract their attention. When you read a book, you allow your baby to rest and sleep peacefully.
Babies aged 4-6 months show an interest in books. They may try to hold it, touch it, and put it in their mouth. That’s why you can choose cloth books designed for babies in this month group.
Between 6-12 months, they begin to understand the pictures in the book. When you start reading the book, your child tries to react by making sounds. When he is 12 months old, he will try to turn the pages.
When Should You Read the Book?
All you need to read to your baby is your baby, you and a book. In my starting period, you only need to read for a few minutes, but you must repeat it over and over. Trying to finish the book in one sitting can distract your baby.
You should set a specific reading time each day. Gaining the habit of reading, especially before bedtime, will make it easier for your child to fall asleep.
What you need to do to read a book to your baby;
Hug your baby while reading, this will make him feel safe and strengthen the bond between you.
Change the tone of your voice according to the characters in the book, do not skip the accents.
Do not try to read the book straight, interpret the pictures and proceed in the form of questions and answers.
Sing songs and lullabies while reading the book, do not avoid imitating animals, this way they will understand that reading is a fun activity.
Babies love repetition and that’s how they learn. Don’t be afraid to reread the book.
When choosing a book for your baby, choose very simple, repetitive texts and plenty of picture books. Cloth books with soft textures are ideal for your baby.
You should definitely have a library at home in order to give your child the habit of reading.
Leaving a book in your child’s toy basket will be helpful in encouraging him.