Reading

There is no set age to start reading with your baby as they all develop differently at different rates. Babies seem to get most from a book experience when they are physically ready for you to share a book with them. This may include being able to hold a book the right way up and turn the pages. Like many adults, most babies seem to find it easier to focus their eyes on a book when they are in a sitting up position. Sit your child on your knee or beside you and share the book.

Think about these ideas when sharing a book with your baby, toddler or young child:

Children are natural learners. As parents, you don't have to teach them. The most important thing you can do is to let them see that you enjoy learning. If they see you reading, they will want to copy you.
Children learn a lot about reading and print from the world around them. They are surrounded by notices, labels and sighs at home, in the supermarket or walking to the park. Talk to your child about these and what they could mean.
With young babies you may choose not to read the text to begin with but to talk about the things you see on the page and relate them to their experiences. Point to the pictures and relate them to something your child knows. Your child will soon learn to do this too and this helps your child build up a bank of familiar words.
Sharing books is also the key to successful book experiences. If you share books regularly and promote a love of stories it will stay with your child and they will benefit from this by picking up new language, developing their communication skills and improved listening and attention span.
If you keep the books in a special accessible place, your child may choose books to look at themselves or try to 're-read' what you have shared. It is important for children to be able to browse and choose books – if they are able they might share reasons for their choice. But remember; a book which you find boring will also bore your child.
Reading is much more than just matching letters and sounds. When you read a story together, your child will be finding out about how stories work. So when you are sharing books talk about the title, the author, the front cover etc. Your child will learn how books work that you start at the front and have to turn the pages for the story to keep on going.. They may want to hold the book and turn the pages themselves.
Choose a quiet place so there are no distractions from TV and radio.
Practise makes perfect. You may not feel comfortable reading stories aloud and changing your voice for different characters and stories but your child will love it! The more you do it the easier it will become.
Talk to your child about what's going on in a book and give them time to respond. Value their thoughts and listen to their ideas.
Follow the words with your finger. You are not teaching your toddler to read but they will begin to understand that those black squiggly things are important because they are telling the story. They will begin to learn that in English, print goes from left to right.
Most of all enjoy yourself. Sharing books is great fun and it's the ideal opportunity to share a cuddle at the same time.