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| Image from weheartbooks.com |
Helping your child to love reading
- Use books to bond
- Set up a ritual
- Choose appropriate books
- Repeat, repeat, repeat
- Ham it up
- Follow her interests
- Go to the library
- Turn on the tape
- Don't make books a reward
- Dealing with a wriggler
- Make storytelling a part of life
- Point out words everywhere
- Talk
- Demonstrate your own love of books
There are lots of fun ways to help your little one learn to love books and stories. And, surprisingly, not all of them involve sitting down with an actual book.
Use books to bond
It's not all about reading the words. At this age, it's more about enjoying the interaction with Mom or Dad. When your child sits in your lap as you read aloud, she doesn't just enjoy books, she also enjoys the security of your undivided attention.
Set up a ritual
A regular reading time establishes a calming routine young children love -- that's why the bedtime story is a time-honored tradition. But don't forget that many other daily events also provide good reading opportunities. Once in a while try establishing a new ritual with a breakfast story, a bathtime story, a just-home-from-nursery story or even an "on the potty" story. Some toddlers (and older children) who are heavy sleepers are much better able to face the day when their parents "read them awake" rather than hustle them out of bed.
Choose appropriate books
Toddlers love board books, bath books and pop-up books -- any type they can hold easily and manipulate themselves. They love stories accompanied by bright, clear realistic pictures. And, of course, they love rhymes. That's not to say your 2-year-old won't appreciate the stories her big brother chooses -- who knows, Harry Potter may end up being her favorite book! Just make sure she has access to simpler books as well.
