It’s never too early to introduce your little one to the world of books. Reading with babies helps to teach them about communication, builds listening, memory and vocabulary skills and gives them information about the world around them. And importantly, babies and toddlers enjoy the interaction, closeness and attention that sharing a book with you gives them. Here are a just a few tips to help you introduce books to your baby.
- Choose books with clear, simple pictures and unfussy backgrounds, these are easier for baby’s developing sight to look at and absorb
- Books with little or no text give you the chance to point to and talk about the pictures, while baby will love listening to your reassuring voice when you read simple stories or rhymes
- Board and cloth books are easy for little hands to hold and particularly useful for those babies who enjoy a good chew!
- When they are old enough to sit up and hold a book themselves, introduce them to touch-and-feel books which have different textures to stimulate their senses
- Reading bedtime stories is a great, comforting way to help send babies off to sleep and establish a familiar bedtime routine
