Reading aloud to babies and toddlers »

When can I start reading to my baby?

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Many parents probably wonder if and when they can already read to their little baby, even though the baby cannot yet understand what is being read. The answer is: From about three to four months you can already read or tell your child their first stories. Even if the content is not yet interesting, reading aloud already has many advantages for babies:

Promote language development:

Even if babies cannot yet understand what you are reading to them, many listen intently to the sound of your voice. For this reason you can already begin reading aloud. This allows your child to learn the sound of their native language and makes it easier to imitate when they later begin to speak.

Practice focusing:

Of course very young babies cannot yet concentrate on an entire story being read to them. But even short tales help your baby learn to focus on something. To support your baby, you can use different pitches and tones and make your voice sound especially interesting.

Soothe:

Even if by the third or fourth month the first sleep habits may have developed, it is still hard to make reading a bedtime ritual for babies. Nevertheless you can use reading to soothe. Since your child already knows their parents' voice from the womb, they can relax more easily with those familiar sounds.

Picture books:

Even small, colorful accordion books or cloth picture books can be "read" to your baby. The colorful pictures and shapes attract your baby's attention and you can tell little stories about them. This also supports their language development.

Reading to babies and toddlers

Your own magazine:

Since at the beginning of reading aloud it is mainly about your baby hearing the sound and melody of your voice, you can also read texts from your magazine or an adult book to them. This has the pleasant side effect that you can read texts that interest you.

Picture books:

Colorful pictures with clear, simple shapes are already interesting to babies. If they hear your voice telling them what is shown in the pictures, you can early on show your baby that there is a connection between images and words. You can also let the pictures inspire a little story.

Own stories:

If you don't have a book at hand but want to tell a story on a walk or while cuddling, you can simply comment on what you are doing, make up a short story, or repeat something you already know well. Well-known fairy tales or rhymes are especially suitable here.

Don't force reading:

If your child does not want to be read to right now or is too restless, you should not force reading. Your child should perceive stories and reading as something positive and not lose interest. This way you can already help ensure that your baby will likely enjoy reaching for a book later on.

Growing up with stories: great fun for toddlers

As your child gets older, the content of the stories becomes more important. Not only with your voice can you now direct your toddler's attention to reading aloud, but also with what is in the book. This way children can not only cuddle with mom and dad but also discover their own heroes. Therefore pay attention to your child's preferences. If they are particularly interested in animals, you can probably delight them with zoo stories or a book about the farm. Little princesses and princes will probably dream best after reading a fairy tale. When your child is old enough, they will prefer to choose what you read to them themselves. For this reason it makes sense to keep the books in the child's room within easy reach.