BABIES!

In previous posts I've emphasized the need for the parent/caregiver to take seriously their role as the child's first teacher.  Baby's learn through their relationships with the adults in their lives.  They learn through their senses.  It is critical that the adults in their lives take full advantage of the brain development that is taking place.

Why Read to Babies?

Babies can't understand what you're saying, they can't hold a book, so why read to your baby?
Because it introduces your baby to the connection between what you say and the written word.  More importantly it's an opportunity for your baby to hear your voice and make a connection with books.  When you read to your maybe you're using emotion which helps the baby develop social connections.  Your baby hears many words.  They may not understand them but they are hearing them and eventually they will.  The more you read to them the more they'll understand.  Babies who are read to frequently before the age of 2 are introduced to far more words than those who are not.

My personal experience with my granddaughter has proven to me that as soon as you start reading to your baby your baby is making connections to you, your voice, the book, the pictures and the words.  When she was just weeks old we would open a book and read it.  Of course she did not seem to respond, but she was looking at the pictures, responding to our voices and learning how it all fits in her little world.  We never stopped reading to her.  Now at 22 mos. she pulls her favorites, points to the pictures we name, tries to tell the story herself, even in "made-up" words.  Most importantly she LOVES the experience.  Her brain is ALWAYS developing.