A Little About My Baby / Toddler and Myself
I have two boys. One is 4 years old and the other is 3 months old.
What I Did:
I began reading to both of my children while I was pregnant. Once I held them in my arms, I sat with each one in a rocking chair and read them the same books I had read when I was pregnant. Even my 3 month old looks at the pictures of every book.
How I Did It:
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 and read. He can read Matthew Van Fleet's "Dog" and "Cat" books. Van Fleet's books are wonderful for younger kids because they rhyme, have opposites; there are flaps to open and furry patches to feel. We read all sorts of books, but the very first one I read to both of my children was Margaret Wise Brown's "Goodnight Moon."
Lessons Learned
- It's never too early to read to your kids.
- Stick with board books as long as possible. To this day, my 4 year old can be too rough on books with thin pages!
- Don't try to skip a day reading to your children. Yes, the extra 15 minutes to yourself would be great, but curling up with your kids in their beds to read them a bedtime story is even better!
- In the beginning, it doesn't matter what you read as long as you're reading. I once read a video game instruction manual to my older son. He loved it!
