Read To Your Baby!
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, or you can read aloud while nursing or when your baby is lying down. It is one of the most important things you can do to help your child learn language.
Tips for reading with your baby:
- Use “Parent-ese”: Adults naturally use a high-pitched, slow voice when talking with babies, and this is very helpful to their new ears and brains! Parent-ese breaks down words into smaller syllables, which helps babies hear the difference between distinct sounds.
- Point to objects/pictures when you say a word. Pointing at objects helps babies create connections between words and the object! Find different objects in picture books and say their names to help your baby learn new words.
- Encourage your baby to hold the book, turn the pages, touch the cover, interact with it in any way! You can model the proper way to hold and read a book, and with practice, your child will be able to do the same.
- Be silly and expressive with your voice! You can pretend to be a character in a book, or pretend to be an animal while talking. If you are having fun, your baby will have fun too.
- Repeat, repeat, repeat! Babies LOVE repetition - that’s how they learn words and become familiar with sounds! Read your baby’s favorite book over and over to them and watch them learn the story by heart!
- Baby names - one of the first words your baby will recognize is their own name. They also will pay close attention to any word that comes directly AFTER their name. This is called “anchoring” and can be a GREAT way to introduce new words. You can say, “Baby name, BANANA!” or whatever new word you want to introduce.
