The benefits of books

The Cat in the Hat. The Hungry Caterpillar. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. Everyone has a favorite book from their childhood, and parents dream of sitting in their rocking chairs and sharing that beloved story with their own little one. But in reality, busy schedules and toddler antics can make it a little more difficult to get through story time.

Speech-language pathologist Tamara Guyton-Louis, MS, rehabilitation manager for Wolfson Children’s Rehabilitation South location, said there are countless ways reading benefits your baby’s or toddler’s development. She shared tips for helping engage your child while reading.

How reading supports early development

Guyton-Louis recommended reading to your child as much as possible, but said not to feel defeated if it doesn’t work out every day. Any time spent reading offers many benefits: enjoying quality time together, learning language, and building a forever hobby.

“Reading to your child can not only introduce a lifelong love for books, but also a diverse vocabulary and enhanced language skills,” Guyton-Louis said.

Understanding of how voice and tone change within a conversation can increase social development, so the best way to build social skills and comprehension is through reading. These skills are best for school readiness and success with vocabulary.

Tips to keep toddlers engaged during storytime

While some kids may love storytime, others may not sit still for more than 30 seconds…on a good day. Guyton-Louis said it’s OK if you don’t feel like your child absorbs every word you read; they’re listening. Changing how you sit together so your child can see your expressions may help keep them reeled in, too.

“A great way to keep them engaged is to sit face-to-face or side-by-side,” she said. “This will give them the opportunity to interact with you, and you can model reading. Another way to engage them is to let them complete your sentences with words or word approximations. Hearing the animation in our reading and giving them a turn will make your toddler want to do more.”

And if your little one just isn’t having it, ditch the text altogether.

“If you can’t make it through the book, then shorten the sentences or don’t use sentences at all,” she said. "Try taking a picture walk through the book. This is where you will just talk about the pictures in the book and make up your own words.”

Use 'explicit reading' to build language skills

Want to make sure your kiddo reaps all the developmental benefits of being read to? Then Guyton-Louis recommended doing what researchers call “explicit reading.” That means not just reading the text in the book that tells the story, but talking about the words, too. In explicit reading, you're using intentional vocabulary.

"So you'd say, 'The elephant was enormous. Enormous means very big,'" Guyton-Louis said. “Also, use active modeling. For example, your child says, 'dog' and you say, 'Yes, the dog is running.’ You can also work on print awareness, which is, 'Look, a word! What letter is at the beginning of the word? Is it a long word or a short word?'" Guyton-Louis explained.

Create a literacy-rich home environment

Next, create a “literacy-rich environment” by keeping books around the house where your kid can access them anytime to look at pictures, practice turning pages and more.

It’s also helpful to choose the right kinds of books. For infants, Guyton-Louis recommended board books with simple pictures and vocabulary. Board books have thicker pages, which are easier for little hands, and lots of pictures. They usually have one or two lines of words, which is good for ages 1 and 2.

“Choose books with repeated lines, such as Eric Carle books, as this will give your child a chance to engage because the same line is repeated multiple times in the book,” she said. “For ages 3 to 5, choose books with a story that has all the words while pointing out the characters and actions along the way. Also, use books with different kinds of print that show excitement, such as 'Oh no!’ or using sound words like 'vroom’. It's all about finding books your kids can relate to and find funny. This will make reading more memorable, which helps to develop language as well as relationships with caregivers.”