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Birth to Six > Babies

Babies

baby with book

Babies are born ready to learn. They can understand language long before they are able to talk. Talk to your baby often about what he is seeing, hearing, feeling and doing. Imitate your baby's sounds and smiles to encourage early "conversation."

Holding your baby while reading creates a loving bond. Your familiar voice has a calming effect and helps your baby make an association between reading and pleasure.

Reading with Babies

Reading with your baby is a valuable way to spend precious time together. Although your new baby will not understand the words you read, your voice and your cuddling are exactly what she needs. Begin sharing books with your baby as soon as you can safely hold the baby and the book at the same time. It is one of the most important things you can do to help your child learn language.

Also for babies

Let your baby explore soft cloth, vinyl or board books. Babies learn by exploring with their mouth - sometimes early reading looks like chewing.

Point to objects in the book and name them.

Change your voice as you read aloud and make the sounds of the animals baby sees.

Ask your baby questions about what's happening on the page, such as, "Where is the duck?" Pause, point and answer for baby, "Oh, look, there's the duck!"

Respond to your baby's interest. Imitate his responses.

Improvise! You don't need to read the words as they appear in the book. You can just talk about the pictures.

Relax and have fun! It's okay if your baby crawls or moves away - she will still hear and benefit from your voice.

What Babies Like in Books