Start sharing books with your baby from birth. Sharing books together helps you bond with your baby, even when they are very little.
This is because you create a time to snuggle, connect and share a special moment. It doesn't matter if you look at just 1 page or the entire book.
Sharing books together is one of the best ways to build your child's vocabulary, understanding and talking skills. It also gives them the skills they need for learning to read when they are older.
By 6 months they will begin exploring. Books are are one of the best toys for them.
Benefits of sharing books from the start
The first few years of life is a time of fast brain development.
Benefits of introducing books and stories early include:
- soothing and comfort - hearing your voice calms your baby as they recognise it from before birth
- learning new words - books often contain language that you do not use in other conversations
- attention and listening skills - books help create a culture of reading and learning in your family
Choosing books to read and share
High-contrast black and white books are best for newborns. Their eyesight is limited so this helps them to understand what they are seeing.
These books usually have large pictures with 1 image on each page. They can be made of soft material or harder 'board books'. These can be nice to touch and safe to mouth and chew.
After 6 months, board books are best. Your baby can turn the pages and play with the book without damaging it. Board books are sturdy and can withstand lots of pushing, pulling, and exploring.
Choose books that have:
- photographs of early objects and people- this helps connect books with the real world
- textured surfaces and sounds - this helps sensory development
- bright colours - this helps engage your baby
- short, simple sentences - this helps your baby hear the key words of language
- lots of repetition and rhymes
Book recommendations for babies age 0 to 2 (video)
Books for toddlers (age 1 to 3)
Choose books with engaging pictures or pages you can touch and feel. Books with noises, flaps, tabs and sliders are great for developing attention and focus.
Books for children age 3 to 5
Older children love stories that they can connect to their own lives - look out for topics and themes they can relate to. They still love engaging pictures. They will sometimes make their own stories using the pictures.
How to share stories with a newborn
When babies are not moving around during the first few months you have a captive audience for reading aloud.
Make sure you have a quiet setting and are free from distractions. Turn off the TV and put your phone away.
Snuggle up and begin by looking at the cover of the book and the pictures. Sometimes you might read the text. Other times might point and name things, say hello to things you see in the pictures, or make the sounds and do the actions. There are no rules you must follow when sharing books together.
Follow your baby’s lead and make it fun, with lots of cuddles, laughing and kisses.
Over time your baby may start to look forward to the routine by kicking their legs and cooing with excitement when you suggest a storybook. Story time is a time to connect.
Reading with your baby…here’s how (video)
How to share stories with babies 6 months and older
From 6 months on babies love to explore books in their own way. They may want to go through the pages quickly, stay on their favourite page or even chew on the book.
Let your baby be in charge. If they're interested in something, spend more time on it. Notice what they look at and touch, then talk about that. For example, if they look at a picture of a sock, you can point to the book and say ‘I see the sock!'
Relate what you see in the book to real life. You could point to your baby’s sock then to yours to make the connection. Repeat the words as many times as you can while keeping their interest.
Babies do not need lots of books. Let your baby decide their favourites and share them over and over. Keep books where your baby can see them and later where they can reach them.
How to share stories with toddlers (age 1 to 3)
From 1 to 3 years, toddlers often have a few favourite books. You may have to read the same book many times!
This is great for their language development. Babies and toddlers learn through repetition. It's OK to repeat the book over and over.
They may begin to copy words you say when looking at a book together. This shows their growing language skills.
Try to pause at the end of a line to see if they will fill in the gap. If not, then you can finish the sentence yourself.
Let your toddler set the pace. Sometimes it’s a race to the end. Sometimes it’s a slower pace.
Pause and watch for what they are interested in. Chatting about the pictures they are interested in helps to build their understanding.
Try not to ask too many questions. Instead, follow their lead and use lots of comments. You could say: "Oh, the cow is eating grass" or "That cow is very hungry!"
Sometimes you do not even have to read the book! Look at the pictures and make the sounds. Pretend to be the characters or do the actions.
Watch your child. Follow their focus and talk about what they are interested in. Little ones learn best from back and forth conversations.
Helping my child to talk: Conversational turns (video)
Telling stories with children (video)
How to share books with preschool and school age children
Connect the story to their lives. Make the links between what they see in books and their own experiences. "Remember when we went to the zoo we saw a…” This helps their understanding and reading skills.
Have printed words all around the home and point them out to build print awareness.
Printed words can be:
- signs
- newspapers
- flyers
- receipts
- shopping lists
- alphabet magnets on the fridge
Use simple vocabulary to explain new words. For example: "Cow babies are calves and giraffe babies are calves too! I wonder what baby whales are called?”
Talk about rhyme and sounds. For example: "Room sounds like broom - they rhyme". "Squelch and squerch – that sounds like when you are walking in mud in your boots!"
Start wondering together and predicting what might happen. For example: "I wonder what this book is about?" "I think he's going to..." "Oooh I wonder what's going to happen now?"
Give your child plenty of time. They might need time to explore the page and see what they are interested in.
More support
Your local library and charity shops are great resources for books and events.
