Blog provided by the Winnipeg Public Library.
Reading is a special gift that you can share with your baby, and best of all, it’s never too early to start enjoying books with your little one! Reading with baby offers families the opportunity to share happy moments together at any time of the day.
What are some of the benefits to reading with Baby?
- Reading together creates a delightful bonding time for parent and baby – Baby enjoys hearing the soothing sound of your voice, looking at the pictures and being held close to you.
- Reading together encourages Baby to learn new words – The more words that baby hears, the better prepared baby is to start reading on their own when the time comes.
- Reading together when baby is young helps to Promote reading in later years
- Reading together is fun – make reading a part of your everyday family routine and this will help foster a love for reading
Tips for reading with Baby:
- Hold baby close – Baby will associate reading with a warm and happy feeling
- Babies and toddlers love to hear stories and rhymes over and over again – Read favorite stories as your child requests them
- Be silly when reading together – change your voice to represent different characters
- Take time to talk about favorite characters and events in the story
- As babies grow into toddlers, encourage them to choose the stories that you share together
- Read whenever you have a chance; after a snack, when you want to slow down after a busy afternoon, at bedtime
- Pack a couple of books when you are on the go and read wherever you are – at the Doctor’s office, at the park, on the bus
- Visit the library together to choose new books to share, to read and to join in on activities and programs (Once we re-open for browsing)
When choosing Books for Baby start with some of your own favorite stories and look for:
- Books with repetition of sounds and words that encourage child to join in
- Books that use simple language
- Books that illustrate everyday things in your child’s life
- Books that are just the right size for tiny hands
- Books with simple, uncluttered illustrations of familiar objects
- Books that are sturdy
Some favorite books to borrow from Winnipeg Public Library .
- My Heart Fills with Happiness
- Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
- Pride Colors