Get ready to read: Babies and toddlers (below age of 3)

 

• Narrate the day

Talking to your baby may be the most important thing you can do to promote language development. Conversation helps your child become accustomed to hearing a stream of speech, and it stimulates the language pathways in their brain.

• Touch the text

For infants and toddlers, moving your finger under the words as you read them serve as a clue that those funny little symbols have meaning and are the source of the story.

• Be expressive 

Create distinctive voices for the characters in a story, and use sound effects (Bonk!) and exclamations (“oh!  No!”) Where appropriate.

• Let your toddler be the teacher.

Have him/her show a stuffed-animal friend how a book works. Then encourage your child to narrate the story from what they see in the pictures.

• Read with your child, not just for him/her

When you sit down with a magazine, give your toddler some broad books to look at too. You’re showing her/him that reading is important to you, and they’ll want to imitate you.