Benefits of Reading to Your Infant

“Reading to babies and young children is so important. It provides the building blocks for language. And it gives them the tools for forming lifelong social and emotional skills.” –Pediatrician Sarah Klein, MD

When should you start reading to your infant?

Even though your infant can’t hold a book, turn pages, or sound out any of the letters or words, it is not too early to introduce them to the magic of reading. According to Dr. Klein, it’s never too early, (or, too late) to start reading to your infant, and children can reap the benefits you reading aloud to them at any age.

Benefits of Reading to Infants

Bonding:

Exposing your infant to the sound of your voice, by reading aloud to them is a soothing and cherished activity that develops bonds between you and your infant.

Prepares Child to Read:

While your infant may not understand what you are reading to them, they will begin to pick up the rhythm, tones, and inflections of your voice, building the foundation for language and literacy. Also, studies show that the greater the vocabulary an infant is exposed to, the better prepared they will be to start reading on their own.

Boosts Brain Power:

Speaking of vocabulary, studies have shown that reading aloud to infants create a greater vocabulary and develop advanced mathematical skills.

Emotional IQ:

Your infant is exposed to feelings and emotions through the patterns and sounds the parent uses while reading aloud. Whether it's doing a "special" voice for a particular character in the book or describing the scene, emotion or reaction, your spoken word conveys the idea that words and sounds have specific and predictable meanings.

Visual Development:

Between birth and three months, your infant will start focusing their eyes on simple patterns. Children's picture books are great tools to help develop pattern recognition skills for your infant through the variety of shapes, letters, and colors these books introduce. Pattern recognition skills are the building blocks for recognizing letters, numbers, shapes, and even words, further developing the vocabulary potential in your child.

Reading is Fun:

Making reading a part of your family's regular routine, will model to your infant that reading is an enjoyable activity and not a chore. Developing an early habit of reading in a child can foster a life-long love of reading and learning.

Erik Dunton (www.erikdunton.com) is a children's author, illustrator, and songwriter. Erik has had a long career as a professional musician and freelance graphic designer with a background in early childhood development and special education, producing interactive, music-based children’s programs. Recently, Erik has focused his talent and experience on writing and illustrating children's books and writing and performing children’s music. In 2020, Erik created Big E! Publishing, a company dedicated to producing quality children's books, music, video, and other media.

To contact Erik at Big E! Publishing, for media inquires, book review submissions and requests, book signing events, or interviews, please send inquiries through email: ErikDunton.Author@gmail.com

Big E! Publishing • Lexington, KY

www.BigEPublishing.com

www.ErikDunton.com

www.ErikDunton.com/monsters