Reading With Young Children

Reading With Young Children

Reading with children from an early age has a number of important developmental benefits. Reading encourages children to develop vocabularies, improve their attention span, cuddle and bond with the reader….and it is fun! By helping your child love books and reading from an early age, you have started down the path of one of the most important skills for a positive and successful educational experience as he enters school.

How do you get a young child started in the direction of loving books and enjoying reading? Here are several simple strategies to help you get started. Many books have been written about reading and reading success so for a more in depth discussion of the topic, look at the link to our bibliography.

*Even babies enjoy “reading” with you. If you have an older child, include the infant when you read to her. The baby will not follow the meaning of the story, but will benefit from the sound of your voice, the opportunity to watch you with her sibling enjoying the experience. Even very young children enjoy bright colored pictures and word repetition.

*Provide your young child (6 months to 1 year) sturdy board books of his own. These books can be made of cardboard, cloth or heavy plastic. They should have pictures and be safe for him to chew, drop and handle. These early experiences with books are often brief but begin to provide some of the groundwork for future reading.

*Between a year and eighteen months, children will enjoy looking at books with clear pictures. Most children are not yet ready for true stories, but will love having you point out and name pictures on the page. This is a great time to pretend to eat the apple in the picture (and give her a bite too!), or make the animal sounds when you point out animals on the page.

*One year to eighteen month olds love books that do things: Doors that open, flaps to pull up, and books with textures or the ability to make a noise when you touch a particular place on the page. Though these books are a little more fragile than the board books mentioned above, they really help young children get excited about reading and increase their attending to books. You will find that after you have read this type of book a number of times, your child will begin to anticipate a favorite place in the book.

*When beginning to read with your young child, keep the time short. Pay attention to cues that your child is getting restless and stop before it is no longer fun for him. Make the activity fun for both of you!

*Pick good times to read. Many families find that their young child enjoys reading most right before nap time or bedtime. Some people find that it works best to pick a regular time of day that fits their schedule and make it part of the daily routine. Read while you find yourself waiting at the doctor’s office or in the car. Of course, any time you and your child want to read is a good time!

*Many two year olds are beginning to enjoy listening to stories with a theme. These still need to be short and having a lot of pictures that support the story line is still very helpful. If your child is sitting for periods of time looking at picture books with you, this is a good time to bring out early storybooks. Begin by reading the story but shorten it by describing what is in the story if it still seems too long for your child. The most important part of introducing reading to young children is to keep it fun and expand the required attending time as your child is ready.

*As your child begins to have a lot of experience with you reading to her, she may want to read to you. This is a great way for children to begin to use their memories and their imagination. You may be surprised by how well your child remembers a story you have read to her or how vivid her imagination is when she expands the way the story is told!

*Three year olds often will sit for extended periods of time and listen to multiple books in a row. This is a great age to begin to let your child select books from the library on a regular basis. This is also a great age to try taking your child to a neighborhood story hour for children in the same age group. Many local libraries and bookstores provide free story hours. Check your neighborhood school for story hours too. Harvey Oaks, Rockwell and Holling Heights Elementary Schools offer story times for preschool children . Check some of the links listed under INDOOR ACTIVITIES or contact the bookstores or library closest to you for information.

*Three and fours love to expand on books they have read. If you have read a story that includes making bread (e.g. The Little Red Hen) you can expand your child’s understanding by doing an activity listed in the book. A very simple way to build on a book is to have your child draw a picture related to the story. Some children enjoy acting out a favorite book as well. Many commercial materials are available now to support expansion of a book experience (See materials available at Millard’s Family Resource Center/linked on INDOOR ACTIVITIES) or look at your closest book store. Many of the same ideas can be implemented with home made materials as well. These activities allow your child to expand her imagination and consolidate some of the new vocabulary from the book.

Should I Try To Teach My Child to Read?
When Will My Child Begin Reading?

Children begin reading independently at all different ages. Much like starting to speak, parents often worry that if their child is not an “early reader” there is something wrong with him. Each child comes with their own strengths and some pick up on reading while others may have great fine motor skills. Celebrate your child’s strengths and continue to offer activities that need more development.

Reading with and to your child from an early age will help him get ready to read. In addition, there are other things you can do to encourage reading readiness.

*Help your child recognize familiar signs and symbols. One of the earliest things children often are able to “read” is called environmental print. It is the print we see all around us like the logo to a favorite fast food restaurant, your child’s favorite cereal or the stop sign at the corner. This will increase your child’s awareness that combinations of letters identify things and that recognizing these combinations of letters is valuable!

*Help your child recognize the beginning letters in her name. This is often the first letter that is important to her. You can help her find this special letter in a number of places: books you read, on billboards or signs, in magazines.

*Expose your child to letters in play. There are endless commercial products such as refrigerator magnets and bathtub letters but you can do the same things with pieces of construction paper and die cuts that produce letters. Die cuts can be used for free at a number of places, including Millard’s Family Resource Center.

*Allow your child to practice drawing and writing. These skills tend to support letter and number recognition and also help children get prepared for reading.

*Point our common words that repeat in favorite books. Encourage your child to look at the name of the book and tell them the name of the author and illustrator. As you read a story, occasionally sweep your finger under the words so your child begins to realize that the words have meaning . This will help your child understand how the combinations of letters take on meaning.

*Encourage your child to become aware of the importance of written words but don’t let that emphasis decrease the pure enjoyment of interacting with books. Keep the experience fun and developmentally appropriate and your child will gradually begin to identify letters and common words.