Birth to Six > Toddlers
Toddlers
Is it difficult to capture your toddler long enough to share books together? This is normal! Your toddler has so much to do!
The key to sharing books together is to look for times during the day when she is most receptive. Trying to read to a toddler who wants to play outside or with newly discovered toys would frustrate both of you. Your toddler will be most interested when she's not hungry, wet, or tired.
Make reading interactive. Include your toddler by asking him questions and encouraging his repetition of familiar phrases in the book: "but it wasn't spilt milk." After asking him a question, wait for five seconds to give her time to respond. These conversations are the best way to encourage language. This is called dialogic reading.
Also for toddlers
Reading with Toddlers
Read favorite stories again and again.
Get your little one actively involved in telling the story.
Ask questions that invite more than a yes or no answer - "What is this thing called?" "Oh, I wonder what she is doing?"
Summarize the book if it has too many words, or just talk about the pictures. Most toddlers books have no plot so it's not necessary to read from cover to cover.
Give your child access to books. Choosing what she would like to look at and learning to turn the pages is part of early literacy.
What Toddlers like in Books
- Small books to fit small hands
- Books with simple rhymes
- Books with familiar items - shoes, toys, pets
- Books with familiar routines - bedtime, bath time, meals
- Lift the flap books
- Books with very few words or with repeating words - books little ones can learn by heart
- Goodnight books for bedtime