Reading is essential to learning and growing and opens up a world of imagination. Taking time to read with your child is a great way to spend quality moments together and helps your child fall in love with books. In this blog, we will share four tips for reading with your little one in honor of National Reading Awareness Month. We hope these tips will help make reading fun and engaging for your child while also helping them develop essential skills that will benefit them for years to come. We also think these simple tips will make reading time less stressful for parents, which is a huge win.
1. Start Slow: When you first start to read with your child, you do not need to read the book word for word. Instead, begin by flipping through a few pages and see how your child’s tolerance is. You can do this by starting with just a few minutes of reading at night and then working up to 10-15 minutes. It’s important to understand that kids have limited patience and can only handle so much reading at a time. It’s OK if you only get 5 minutes in one night and a bit more the next. Take your time, and know a little goes a long way.
2. Tell the Story Using Pictures: Young children may have a tough time following along with the story in the book you’re reading. To help with this, try to tell the story the picture is sharing. For example, you could point to the picture on the page and describe it by saying things such as, “Uh oh, he looks like he’s hurt, and his mommy is going to give him a kiss on his owie to feel better.” Even better, ask your child what they think is happening in the picture and what they think will happen next.
3. Choose Books With Animals: There are many great children’s books out there, and it can be challenging to decide which books to get for your kiddos. But some of our favorite types of books to purchase are books that contain animals. When you read animal-based books to your children, they can work on identifying and making the sounds of each animal. One book we love is the Touch and Feel Farm Animals book, which contains cute animals and multiple textures for your child to touch.
4. Have Your Kids Point Out Things On the Page: One easy way to get your child involved during story time is to ask your little one to point out simple, familiar objects on the page. For example, you can ask your child, “Where is the ball?” let them point, then model back to them by saying, “Ball.”
Happy National Reading Awareness Month! Follow us on our social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest) all month for more reading tips, books we love, and more! Additionally, please don’t hesitate to contact us anytime to discuss if your child would benefit from pediatric therapy. Our team is here to support you and your child in any way we can.
