How to Read to Your Child: 0-24 Months

How to Read to Your Child: 0-24 Months  

 

Reading to your child is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. Not only does it build a child’s language abilities, it helps create a strong bond between parent and child. You may be thinking, “but my baby is only 6 months old” or “my 18 month old could never sit down with me while I read them a book.”  If this is you, you are not alone! That’s why we have combined a handful of strategies to help you create meaningful moments while reading with your child.  

 

0-6 Months: 

  • Choose board books, they are sturdy and mostly resistant to small slobbery mouths  

  • Choose books with little to no words, you will provide the narrative which should consist mostly of labeling the pictures you see  

  • Read the book using your best “baby talk,” use lots of expression and excitement  

  • Choose books with high-contrasting colors 

  • Read books for 5-15 minutes daily, repeating books is not a bad thing 

 

6-12 Months: 

  • Continue to choose mostly board books 

  • Choose books with bold colors and simple/concrete illustrations 

  • Point out and label objects as you read 

  • Continue to provide the narrative instead of reading every word on each page 

  • Read books for 5-15 minutes daily 

 

12-24 Months:  

  • Face your child while you read and continue to use excited and exaggerated speech while reading  

  • Ask the child to point to familiar objects on the page 

  • Choose interactive books (touch and feel, lift the flap, poke-a-dot, etc.) and encourage the child to touch and feel the pages  

  • Allow the child to help hold the book and turn the pages 

  • Choose books with simple narratives (beginning, middle, and end) 

  • Again, repetition of books is normal and in no way negative  

 

Comment to tell us your child’s favorite book! Find below a list of our favorites to read to the littles that visit our clinic! 

 

0-6 Months   

  • Amazing Baby Feel and Learn  

  • Look Look! by Peter Linenthal  

  • First Words (Bright Baby) by Roger Priddy 

  • Cuddly Animals by DK 

    6-12 Months 

  • Moo, Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton  

  • That’s not my puppy... by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells  

  • Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? by Karen Katz  

    12-24 Months

  • Oh No, Poo Poo! by Jennie Bjorem  

  • Hi-Five Animals! by Ross Burach  

  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle  

  • Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill  

  • Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell  

  • Cars, Trucks, Planes, and Trains by Nancy L. Rindone  

 

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Suzie Johannes