Reading to Your Baby - Why Talking and Reading are Vital to Your Baby's Development

We’ve talked about why it’s important to keep school-age children reading over the summer. But you may say, “My child is still a baby. Is reading really that important?” The answer is an undisputable YES.

Talking, singing, and reading to your baby is absolutely vital to your baby’s growth and development. Your baby also learns about communicating and the world around him when you talk and read to him. Need more convincing? Nemours Kidshealth shares these important reasons to talk to and read to your baby early and often.

·       Build a stronger brain network: Remember that network of circuits we talked about before? In the first few years of life, 700 new synapses (neural connections) are formed in your baby’s brain every second. Early experiences determine which circuits are reinforced through frequent use and which are pruned away through lack of use. And differences in children’s development can appear early. For instance, differences in vocabulary growth between children in low socio-economic households and high socio-economic households begin to appear as early as 18 months. Without intervention, the differences grow as children approach school age. And research shows children who are not ready for kindergarten are less likely to graduate from high school, attend college, or get a job with a livable wage.

·       Build vocabulary and improve language development: By the time a baby reaches his first birthday, he will have learned all the sounds he needs to know to speak his native language. He will begin to copy your sounds, learn words, and recognize pictures. So the more sounds, words, and stories he hears from you, the better he will be able to talk.

·       Build listening, literacy, and memory. When reading to your baby, encourage her to look at and touch the pictures or words. This will improve her social and thinking development. Children whose parents read to them in the early years are also more likely to learn to read at the right time.

·       Build communication skills: A parent who reads to her child is likely to use emotion and expressive sounds. This supports her child’s emotional and social development and teaches her child about communication.

·       Teach about her world: Reading to a child gives her basic information about the world around her. It introduces concepts such as numbers, letters, and shapes in a fun way.

·       Create a lifelong reader: When you read to your baby in a fun and engaging manner, he will learn to associate books with happiness, helping to lead him to a lifelong enjoyment of reading and learning.

At One by One, we love sharing tips and activities moms can do with their babies to promote appropriate growth and development. If you’re a new mom and would like to learn more, you can apply for a One by One mentor here. If you have a heart for helping new moms become great moms, you can apply to be a mentor here.