A parent is a child's first teacher. Moms and dads will play a significant role in their child’s learning and development. In fact, your little one will learn a lot of “firsts” from your daily activities together.
Choosing fun and educational activities can strengthen your emotional bond and help your child develop their ability to learn.
There are numerous benefits that your child can potentially get from reading. Research shows that regular reading will increase your child’s vocabulary and comprehension. But aside from improved literacy and a more extensive vocabulary, reading can also assist in their cognitive development, greater concentration and a higher level of creativity and imagination.
Reading with your children will increase the likelihood that they will find reading enjoyable in the future. Here are a few things that you and your child can do so they can find fun in reading at every growing stage.
Start them young
Recommended from birth to 12 months
Your child may not understand everything you’re reading to them at an early stage. But reading aloud to them can teach them how to communicate by introducing them to pictures and sounds they can recognise later on. You can start by directing their attention to pictures and say simple words or phrases related to the object. Reading to them also builds their listening, memory and vocabulary skills and improves their attention span while giving them more information about the world around them.
In the first few months, your child will probably want to bite or chew on the books more than they want to read them. You can choose soft cloth books with teethers or rattles and your baby will find simple images and bright colours interesting.
You can check out these books:
Shears Baby Cloth Book
Lucky Baby® Discovery Pals™ Smartee™ Teether Book
Taf Toys North Pole Activity Book
Engage your child in fun books
Recommended from 1 to 3 years old
Sounds and pictures can help your child learn more words and phrases. Help your child to understand and read words by adding some fun activities that can elevate their overall learning experience, not just in reading but in other things too. Have books that they can interact with like books with sounds or detachable soft textured pieces that they can stick and remove easily.
During this stage, your child may have more fun with interactive books that provide them with page after page of learning fun. These books can include buttons for sounds or pages that they can touch and feel.
You can check out these books:
My First Book
LeapFrog Get Ready For School Book
In My Community Activity Book
Create a reader-friendly environment
Recommended from 3 to 5 years old
Parents can provide a reader-friendly space or time for their child. You can surround your child with more books than toys and ensure that there will be fewer distractions when your child is reading. Choose a quiet space, turn off the TV and keep away other sources of distraction such as cellphones or tablets. Allow them to choose what they want to read but remember to give books that are right for their size and age-appropriate.
At this stage, you can provide books that can enhance your child’s imagination or books that will offer life lessons that can help them later in life. These books can include fictional characters that can help your child learn about different emotions or cultures, too.
You can check out these books:
Make Way for Ducklings
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
The Little House
Make reading part of your daily routine
Recommended for children of all ages
A child’s brain growth happens from birth and it’s about 90% by the age of 5. When you incorporate reading into your daily routine, it will help your child to know more words before they even start attending school. When you read to your child often, reading becomes their habit too.
Reading books every night before bed is a common routine for parents and children. You can also add reading with your kids as part of your activities during the day. Reading time can give them a moment to sit and relax and take some time off playing with toys or other physical activities.
