I cannot express how proud I feel when I sneak around the corner and see my toddler sitting on his floor looking at his books. Or, when he runs to me with a book in his hands begging for me to read to him. I started reading aloud to my son when he was in the womb. No, I am not a quack or anything like that, I researched the topic and found it helps solidify the bond between mom and baby. In my opinion, it is NEVER to early to engage your child in books and build an educational foundation.
My son is 18 months old and his favorite activity is reading. Regardless of what I am doing, if he brings a book to me I share in his excitement and we read it. I am not exaggerating when I say we spend several hours per day reading. My son knows all of his books too. I can ask him to get his “Alex” book and sure enough, he runs to his bookshelf and finds “I’ll Always Love You” out of his 35 books and makes whisper noises (his favorite part of the story is when Alex whispers something to his mom). He can do that for just about every book in his collection, he remembers something exciting from each story and is able to distinguish between his books! It is amazing how much he has learned already from our reading sessions.
I am currently reading “The Read-Aloud Handbook“, by Jim Trelease. I am only in chapter two but am amazed at what I have learned so far! The benefits of reading aloud to children is tremendous and I’m glad I started early. Once I finish the book, I will post a review.
Do your child a favor and turn off the television and read books to them. Also, make sure they see you reading! Children are little sponges, so it is important for them to absorb the importance of reading!