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Why I Read with My Baby

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 As part of our daily routine, we read a story to our daughter every night. Every night.
We read the full story, talk about the pictures, point to objects.
Even though she doesn’t understand a word of it.

So why do we do it?
Reading aloud has so many benefits for our children!
We don’t wait until our kids are old enough to understand words before we sing lullabies, do we? This is no different.

Reading aloud with your baby allows them to connect the things they know and love the most, your closeness and your voice, with books.
Babies are constantly learning about their world and taking in new information.
Book reading not only fosters this learning, but encourages it in a comforting way.

So how exactly does reading aloud help babies learn? Let me share the ways:

  • Teaches early literacy skills, such as where the words are, where the front of the book is, how the pages are turned, etc.
  • Teaches babies about communication
  • Introduces concepts such as numbers, shapes, colours, etc. in a fun way
  • Builds listening and memory skills (think “brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?” repeated again and again)
  • Fosters speech and language development  – the more you speak to and with your baby, the better it is for their growth and development
  • Creates intimate bonding moments with your babies (and may give you a few extra cuddles!)
  • Stimulates imagination (think… any Dr. Seuss book)
  • Encourages a love of reading that could last a lifetime :)

We started this habit right away with our little one, and at 5 months, she is already grabbing the sides of the books, helping turn pages as I hold them out, starring at the colourful pictures, and calming down when the books come out (possibly my favourite one! lol).
Read early, read often, and enjoy watching your baby learn.

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 Sending sweet dreams to babies everywhere :)

{xoxo}

Jen

Friday 4th of July 2014

Good for you guys! Ellie looks like she is really enjoying the book! We started consistently reading with B when she was about a year.. but now, she asks for a 'sto-wee' every night. :)

Lindivs

Friday 4th of July 2014

Good for you guys! Story time is so important! I love it :)