Featured Article: "When Should I Start Reading to My Child?"

Language Development and Read-Alouds

Reading aloud to your child will help foster an enjoyment of reading that will last throughout your child’s life. The younger you start, the easier it is to get in the habit of reading together. Make reading an important part of your day, perhaps as part of your bedtime routine.

It’s never too early to begin reading aloud to your child. Even the youngest babies benefit from the experience of being cuddled and sharing a book. Much of brain development depends upon stimulation, so the more a child is spoken to and played with, the more his language will grow in response. Match books to your child’s level of development. Keep the readings short enough to fit your child’s attention span and gradually increase the length as your child develops. Mother Goose rhymes and songs are a great way to start with the youngest babies, then move on to picture books. Story books and novels will come later. For the first year, choose books that have exciting sounds and colorful pictures. Instead of reading the actual text, you may choose to point to pictures and name them out loud. You can even choose wordless books and make up your own story to fit the pictures. Good examples are Good Dog Carl by Alexandra Day and Deep in the Forest by Brinton Turkle. Books with predictable texts and a lot of repetitions are very helpful. Some examples of these books are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin Jr. and Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. For children beginning to talk, during repeated reading of these books, pause at some key words and phrases to let your child say the words.

You don’t have to be a fabulous reader to read to your child! It takes time and practice for many parents to become comfortable reading aloud, especially with young children who don’t seem to understand. Relax and have fun with it. Try to entertain your child during reading: change your voice for different characters, use lots of expression, slow down or speed up depending on the part of the story. Don’t be surprised when your child begins to ask you to read a book over and over and over again. Take a deep breath and read it again- you are doing it right!

Reference:
Trelease, Jim. The Read Aloud Handbook. New York: Penguin Books, 1995.
Article written by: Tammy E. Glover, M.S., CCC-SL

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