Reading To Your Baby
From the day your baby is born, she or he starts learning. All of the 
conversations and interactions that you verbalize while caring for your baby, playing with him and singing songs and lullabies help to develop his language skills. When you read with your infant, you encourage a love of reading and books from the start.
The following ideas are some suggestions you can use to prepare your child to become a successful and happy reader. By trying these tips one by one you will be able to tell what works best for your child.
Cuddle up when you read a book
As you hold your baby close to you and look at a book with him, your baby will enjoy the cuddling as well as hearing your voice as you read the story. One way to begin to build your baby’s confidence and love of reading is by looking at a book and feeling safe and secure in your arms.
Choose appropriate books for babies
The best books for young babies to see are those that are bright and bold or those with high-contrast illustrations as these are easier for young babies to see, and will hold their attention. Also, books made with cloth or “board books” with sturdy cardboard pages are easier for a baby to handle. You may also want some soft plastic ones for the bath tub.
Keep books within baby’s reach
Babies need books that are easy to reach so they can hold and look at them. They will do with a book what they do with every other toy or thing- put them in their mouths, which is what they are supposed to do. So, be sure to only put those “chewable” books at their reaching level. The others need to be elevated to a higher shelf.
Talk continuously with your baby
Name and describe fruits and other items when shopping at the grocery store, comment on the weather and relate things you see to the pictures in a book you have read when you are going for a walk. Ask your baby questions. Your child will learn words, ideas, and how language works by listening to you.
Respond to your baby’s coos, gurgles, and sounds
These are your baby’s way to communicating with you, and these are the first important steps toward speech. Encourage his or her attempts to mimic you; the more your baby practices making sounds, the clearer they will become. Make appropriate animal noises like mooing, barking, honking, and meowing as you read books about animals!
Develop your baby’s hands
Baby’s hands will grow strong and agile and able to turn pages if you will continually encourage him or her to pick up cereal, crackers or peas, touch her body parts, point to pictures and hold toys.
Follow a daily routine of which reading is a part
Routines are soothing to a baby, and allow him to predict what will happen next. Being able to predict what will happen next is an important skill when your child is older and begins to read independently.
Sing songs and read stories over and over
Reading favorite books and singing favorite songs repeatedly is fun for your baby and will strengthen her language development as well as engendering positive feelings about singing and reading.
Observe your baby’s reactions
Notice how your baby reacts to the book as you read to him. If you see that your baby is not enjoying the story, stop and choose another book, or a better time to read the current one. Reading always needs to be fun for your baby.
Reading is the foundational step to success in school and in life. Begin early to expose your child to the reading of books in a loving, secure and fun-filled way. When these children are developmentally ready, they will enjoy reading on their own. So many educational benefits and so much enjoyment in life is dependent upon the ability to read. Reading allows your child to become a successful life-time learner.
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