How to develop your toddler’s reading habits

03/20/2015

Written by: @GabDiesendorf

As developing both sleep and eating habits is of utmost importance for your child, cultivating reading habits in your child is something you should consider as well. When it comes to eating, children’s eating habits are established early in life. Early nutritional experience has developmental influences. According to studies, bad sleeping habits by 17 months of age can influence irregular sleep patterns later in the childhood. Now, we will see why developing your toddler’s reading habits is important as well.

Developing different reading habits at different stages of development is crucial for your child. Depending on the stages of cognitive development, you, as parents, can choose appropriate methods for developing reading habits. According to scientists, there is a correlation between reading and vocabulary development. In addition, according to various research, children who frequently read books at age of 10, they had higher test results at age 16 compared to children who read less. So, it goes without saying that developing reading habits in your child is something which parents should strive for from the early age.

Now, we give you some techniques for achieving this.

Talk to your child

This is the first step. Talking to your child from the early age has significant consequences to language development. By talking to your child, he/she becomes accustomed to your speech and in this way language pathways are being stimulated in the brain. During toddlerhood, children increasingly start learning new words. Associating learning new words to reading is extremely beneficial.

Picture books

Picture books are great way to cultivate reading habits. You can use picture books before you actually start reading to your child. Make up a story based on the pictures. If your child loves watching cartoons, buy a picture book about the cartoon characters. This will certainly be amusing to him/her. These books associate children to the storytelling and it will be much easier for you to introduce to him/her a real book.

Tips to reading aloud to a toddler

Toddlers usually have short attention span. However, it does not mean that you should not read to them. You do not have to read to your child if he/she clearly does not want it, but use a few minutes per day for this activity. Let your child experience a sense of ownership with the book. Let him/her touch the book, turn the pages; keep the book in his/her room. If it is necessary, read one story as many times as he/she wants. Read with animated voice. Make connections between pictures and the story. It is important to touch the text while reading, so a toddler can eventually understand that the symbols he/she sees have meaning.

Benefits of reading aloud to a toddler

While reading to your toddler, you develop both their vocabulary and listening skills. If you make reading experience a fun activity from the start, a toddler will their mind while you read to them.

Educational toys

In order to make reading aloud amusing activity, you can opt for a set of toys which includes figures and a book in which these figures are the main characters. Your toddler can link the concept of figures to the story you are reading to him/her. Wooden toy books are perfect for toddlers. Because they are made of wood, these books can serve the purpose of a toy.  Toddlers cannot tear the pages apart and they can enjoy looking at the pictures.

There are so many ways to cultivate your toddler’s reading habits. The advice is to be consistent. Read to him/her at regular basis. Educational toys are also an option for introducing your toddler into the world of books. With this routine, your child is going to become a true bookworm.