Even babies can enjoy books and learn from sharing books with you. Sharing books with you little ones can help teach them to talk and get ready to listen and learn in school.
Making Books A Part of Your Baby’s Bedtime Routine:
Set aside a 5 to 10 minutes with the TV off for sharing books as part of your regular bedtime routine. Regular bedtime routines started with babies help prevent future bedtime struggles. Teaching your baby how to fall asleep alone by putting him in bed awake helps prevent future night wakings.
12-14 Month Olds Can:
- Choose a book to share.
- Point to pictures they like in a book.
- Imitate some animal sounds when they look at a picture of that animal.
- Imitate your reactions to the book you are enjoying together.
- Pay attention to a book for a few minutes at a time.
What Parents Can Do:
- Find a quiet, comfortable place for book sharing.
- Name the pictures your child is pointing to or looking at.
- Help your child turn pages.
- Ask your child questions she can answer by pointing, like: “Where’s the doggie?” or “Where’s the happy baby?” or “Who says meow?”
- Imitate the sounds your child makes while looking at a picture. Then add a very short phrase, such as “‘Moo’, the cow says ‘moo’.”