Reading with young babies

I’ve met a few people recently who are surprised when I talk about reading stories with my littlest one. He’s 10 months old and I try to read with him a couple of times a day. Don’t panic - let me explain what that means.

Firstly, I’m talking about literally a few minutes at a time. Small chunks. That’s all. For us it’s maybe 2 minutes before putting him down for a nap. Or at the end of the day when he’s getting a bit tired and grumpy. Choose what fits your life best. Secondly, I am not talking about teaching him to read - it’s about storytime. Sometimes we manage to fit it in, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes he pays attention, sometimes he doesn’t. If it’s not working then so be it! Next, what are you reading? Lots of “That’s not my.....” and lift the flap books? These are amazing, babies love them and we read them ALL the time, but you don’t have to stick to board books. Picture books are a brilliant way of exposing your child to all sorts of new words that they won’t necessarily get with the very simple board books.

Which brings me to my main point: it’s never to early to start reading stories with your babies! Even if they don’t understand the words yet they will love listening to their favourite narrator (you). What you are doing is drip-feeding language so those little spongey brains get used to hearing different words and sentences and absorb it all until they’re ready to try it for themselves.

My top tips for reading with babies: - Get comfy. If you are nice and relaxed, they will be too. - Get rid of background distractions like the TV

or music. - Pick books with bright colours and lots of details in. - Point out things as you go - “look, there’s a bird, it’s eating a worm.” - Pop in funny sound effects and voices for different characters. - Robust books are always a winner - my little one is usually more interested in eating them at first. - Providing a toy or comforter might stop them trying to eat the book, as well as helping them feel comfy and relaxed.

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