Diamond Author
Reading to our babies is one of the greatest pleasures of parenting when it is done right. So how should parents read to their babies?
Start as early as possible.
Reading is a great form of training for a baby. When we read to our babies we are teaching them to sit still and to focus on a specific activity. This is a very necessary skill for all people to have and by reading to our babies we teach them early how to discipline themselves for this activity. It is not hard to do since reading is such an enjoyable activity. When you start reading to your baby during their first months of life, they are learning how to look at the book without grabbing it. Many parents with older babies struggle for control over the book. The babies want to grab the book and rip the pages. By beginning early we are much less likely to avoid this struggle.
Teach your baby to turn the pages.
Babies love to be involved in the process and by teaching them to turn the pages, you are allowing them to interact with the book. If you spend time daily reading to your baby it is much easier to teach the baby how the process works. You read the page and then it gets turned. When beginning with older babies, they may not understand the process for some time making it a struggle to have a relaxed reading session.
Point to each word as you read it.
It is such a good practice to begin text pointing while you read to your baby. This allows your baby to make connections between the words that are being spoken and what you are reading. This one step alone has taught many babies to read through reading alone. Babies do not have to stare at the words to take them in. When you run your finger under the words the babies' subconscious mind is taking in the language. This makes it easier for babies to learn to read in a very natural and relaxed session.
Use different voices.
In order to make the reading experience one that your child enjoys, play around with different voices for different characters. Babies love this and it keeps them very engaged in the story.
Create climaxes in the story with your voice.
A book should not be read in a hum drum manner. With the addition of a little drama, speeding up at certain parts, slowing down and others and raising and lowering the volume in which we read, we can create a very exciting experience for our babies.
I recall reading the book "We're Going On a Bear Hunt" to my baby for the first time. I added a lot of drama when they encountered the bear. I slowed down at some of the very exciting parts and sped up at others. My daughter was covering her eyes because of the drama that I created for her. She loved it and it thrilled her. She begged to have it read to her over and over again. Do not be afraid to play around with your reading style to discover what pleases your baby the most.
About this Author
Krista Guerrero, taught her son to read as an infant. Having taught reading for many years, she discovered that babies are capable of learning to read easier and faster than school-aged children. Her proven techniques have been incorporated into the "Monki See" system. To find out more about teaching babies to read visit http://www.intellbaby.com.
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