Is reading to your lo a good thing?

BONNIE - posted on 11/23/2010

Reading to your child is a GOOD thing. At your LO age of course she hasnt got much of an attention span. Use picture books f animals, flowers, colors, etc. and say the name of what you are pointing to. When she hs had enoug let her go. I put colored magnets of numbers and letters on my fridge with my kids, one letter and one number per week. I pointed to each one everytime we were in the kitchen or opened the fridge. Also had foam rubber numbrs and letters for the tub. Made a big game of it. By kindergarten all of them knew the alphabet and their numbers from 1 to 2 and recognized each of them. They were so proud of themselves. Keep it a happy time, make up silly songs about the numbers r letters, make it a game. Children learn much more quickly when they are having fun with it. Don't push, every child learns at their own speed AND more importantly, in thier own way.

BONNIE - posted on 12/04/2010

I believe that our kids learn lnguage more quickly when we speak to them in real words. Baby talk is fine for having fun while they are small but using correctlanguage most of the time is better. I remember putting my oldest, who is now a grandma, in her little plastic seat on the kitchen table while I prepared meals. I kept up a step by step explanation of what I was doing, not that she understood any of it, but it was normal, real conversation./ She was speaking in sentences at a year old. I have done the same with my other kids and my grandkids too. I continue with the great grandbabies. No, none of them cooked at an early age but they paid such close attention to me when I was talking. Too bad it isn't the same now ha ha ha.

Anna - posted on 12/04/2010

Studies have shown that young children who are read to at least a few times a week have a greater grasp of language and tend to develop at a faster rate. It may not seem like they're paying attention (my son has the attention span of a fly), but what they do absorb really helps their brains make the connections they need to learn to speak. Not only that, looking at pictures in books and connecting what you're saying with what's in the book helps cognitive development and helps them learn to formulate their thoughts and ideas into words. Any reading is better than none at all! And I don't think it's too early to introduce the alphabet and color/number concepts. Just be realistic about what to expect your baby to be able to handle. I like to count my son's toys with him when he's playing, and I'll use descriptive words like "Here is your red cup, it fits inside the blue one", etc.

Brooke - posted on 12/03/2010

Don't worry, my ten month old is the same way. I sit on the floor in the playroom with books. When he comes over to me, I start a book. He'll sit for a few pages and then go off and play again. When he comes back, we do another book. However far we get before he goes off again lol! I had to give up on the idea of finishing a story!! Its getting a little bit better, but my parenting class teacher says that at their age, they have the attention span of a FLEA lol.... So this is totally normal!

Morgan - posted on 11/24/2010

I read to my 10 month old everyday :)
When I find cheap books or books on sale I buy 2 then she can look at hers and turn the pages while I read mine :)

Jessica - posted on 11/24/2010

Reading is a great thing! We ready to our twins everyday and they will be 11 months next week. We also do the magnets on the fridge for them. I have flash cards that we plan on using after Christmas with numbers and colors, but now is a good time to do these things.

Erin - posted on 11/23/2010

Reading is a brilliant thing to do. Believe me, she will start paying attention. I have been reading to my son since he was a week old and he now sits and listens to between 5 and 10 books at a time.
As for working on colours, alphabet and numbers, just relax. As you read those things will naturally come. You don't always have to read the words on the page. You can talk about the pictures. "Look, there's a rabbit!", "The sky is blue". All of that will work. Kids learn so much by doing, seeing and listening. Never under estimate what she is gaining every day.