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If you have come to this issue it is because you have already taken the most important step when it comes to introduce your baby into reading: showing an interest in learning how to do it. The love of reading is a matter of self-motivation, therefore, nobody better than you, parents and other significant adults in baby’s life, to act as models and create favourable and special moments for the act of reading.
When to start?
From the first day. It is better to star as soon as possible, so that listening to stories becomes one of baby’s basic needs. Something as natural and normal as other daily routines such as eating, sleeping, bathing, playing... In fact, all these moments are full of anecdotes that might lead to be told as a story as well.
All the moments that take place around reading a book or watching an audio-visual are a source of sensory stimuli that enables the child to discover life.
Visiting the nearest library is an essential support in these first contacts, as well as a library card to use the resources, if that is possible. Nowadays there are many places that have suitable areas and groups of professionals willing to help you.
Is my baby too small? Will he or she understand what I read?
We do not really know what babies understand, but we do know how they respond to what they have been told and to what they are interested in. They like listening to words because they make them feel better, they satisfy their needs, they help them to develop their language, their imagination... Apart from that, the affection that surrounds every single story is the best way to make concepts to be understood and help meanings to be created.
Is there any method?
No really. Every single way to get close to a book works well to find out the meaning of a story. A good way to get in touch with reading is offering different possibilities or games. It is essential not to rush. As it is the case in other types of learning, all babies progress at their own pace: we must take our time and give them time.
The first tales
Sing a song, cradle your baby with a nursery rhyme, play physical games. The play oriented nature of oral tradition becomes a wonderful way to introduce babies to reading and culture. Playing with words and memory enhances their communication skills. Test your memory and try to remember those clapping rhymes that you were taught when you were small, and then become part of the transmission chain of the oral tradition.
Share stories
To make reading into a special activity, it is better to look for:
· The best moment: When babies are calm, relaxed and feel like looking at a book and enjoy it.
· The right place: Any place is good as long as it is comfortable for babies to look at book’s pictures and be near you.
· The most efficient trick: Reading the story in advance will help you to get ahead and then your gestures and words will be much more expressive when you read it aloud.
While you read together:
· Talk about what happens in the story: Describe aloud the pictures, repeat words to increase child’s vocabulary. Ask your baby to play visual games like pointing out where a particular character or object is.
· Ask yourkid to join in: Insert your interventions in your baby’s (knowing looks, overdone gestures, laughter...). A good strategy is to set the narrative rhythm with body rhythms (clapping, footsteps ...) or onomatopoeic sounds.
· Pay attention to their reactions: If babies reject a proposal it doesn’t mean they reject the book, maybe they are not interested at this particular time. Perhaps the story or how it’s being told is not eye-catching enough.
· Enjoy more: Try to encourage their relationship with reading materials, making connections with what your kids knows and likes.
Books quality contributes to create the taste for reading. Pay special attention when choosing what to read.
Having books at home and creating your own family library is a way for the baby to learn to appreciate and to care for books since the very beginning.
The fact that you really enjoy reading doesn’t mean that your baby was born to be a big fan of reading. So if you've decided to accompany him or her on this point, do not forget to keep doing it when he or she learns how to read. |
