Parenting & Family

Reader Stories: How I Introduced Children's Books to My Baby / Toddler

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Raising a reader starts when your child is very young. While the benefits of reading aloud to young children are well-known, there are also benefits to introducing very young children to books for their own enjoyment. Very young children can learn how to hold a book, open and shut it, look at it from front to back and "read" the pictures. Readers share their stories and tips about introducing their babies and toddlers to children's books.

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Start Early, Read Daily

I read to my kids every day. We pretty much have a stack of books in every room. I've found the more I read to my kids, the more they absorb. My older son just turned 4 and he's learning how to spell…More

A Grandmother's Perspective

I keep books in more than one location in my house. Most of them stay in the playroom, but there are some on the coffee table and others on my bedside table. The ones beside my bed are there for earl…More

Extend the Impact of Picture Books With Related Activities

Each morning we would start the day by reading a picture book story (after washing up and having breakfast, although they really wanted to hear the story right away). The story I would choose might b…More

Tips for Parents

I found that some of the best books were the board books about a specific topic, like colors, animals, etc. that we could look at again and again naming the things. Then, as they get the physical ski…More

Sharing Books = A Bonding Experience

When we went back home, I gave him the book and he just kept pressing the button to make sound. First, he seemed to like the sound, but he bit the book and threw it. And as he gets older I've tried t…More

Read With Your Child

I often read poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. It is one of my all-time favorites and fun to read aloud. I also introduced simple board books. She especially liked those with ba…More

Be Patient and Keep Trying

Even though my daughter had a negative reaction to books and reading in general, I didn't give up, nor did I force her to enjoy the experience. I just would put the book away and try again in a few d…More

Sharing Stories and Books

My children loved to be read to and later loved to read. I believe books allowed my children to dream big and be interested in the good things of life. They loved fairy tales, Mother Goose, Dr. Suess…More

Pick A Book, Any Book

Pull a book off the shelf - any book. A baby doesn't know it's a physics textbook, a board book, or a graphic novel. We still read plenty of Sandra Boynton (Pajama Time is mom's favorite to read), bu…More

Share Your Own Love of Reading Through Books and Reading Aloud

They soon realised, I suppose, that if they brought me or their dad a book they could always get our attention straight away as we love reading, too.I don't believe reading stories should be kept to …More

Simple Stories, Rhyme and Books Nooks

Katie loves books that have a simple story and some rhyme. Her first favourite was, Counting Kisses by Karen Katz. She likes all the old classics like Good Night Moon and Good Dog Carl (almost wordl…More

Read to Your Baby Before Birth

I had always planned to start reading to her while I was pregnant. I went on bed rest at 25 weeks and there was really nothing else for me to do. Every week, my husband went to the library and brough…More

Make Reading a Priority

I read them "The Twelve Gifts of Birth" by Charlene Costanzo.The audience gets a random picture of one of the twelve gift and the message is directed at each of them. The silence in the audience is h…More

Introducing Books to Young Children: It's Worth the Time.

The way I introduced my children to books was to focus on each stage that they were at. As babies we started with books that were about the exploration of all the senses. This included books of textu…More