Why is it important to read to your baby? 3 reasons why it matters
Bridget Flynn
When you have a baby in the hospital, they give you lots of stuff. I had my daughter,
Josephine, in 2017, and I remember thinking, someone should be giving me books. Someone
should be giving me books and telling me how important it is to start reading to my baby right away. That moment was the inspiration for Benji’s Book Club. I am a teacher, so I already knew that reading to my babies should begin from day one. But I also know that many families wait until their babies are 1, 2, or even 3 before they begin to think about reading together. Literacy begins at birth.
READ to your baby every day
But – hear this mamas (and all parents) this is not meant as pressure or judgement. It is ok to
miss a day. I have read to Josie almost every day. Missed a day here and there. Missed a
week here and there, especially if we were travelling. It’s about the routine of usually reading
every day. Exceptions are always okay because life will always get in the way.
“The more student read, or are read to, for fun on their own time
and at home, the higher their reading scores.” Department of
Education (2020)
And – here’s another thing to take off your plate. Children entering Kindergarten do not need
to be able to identify every letter and every sound. That’s a lot of what kids learn in their year
of formal schooling. What they do need – or is extremely helpful – is appropriate
development of early literacy concepts, some letter recognition and sounds, positive
associations with reading, and a robust vocabulary for their age. Early literacy concepts are
recognizing the parts of a book like the front and back cover, pages, title, author, and how to hold the book the right way. All of these develop by the age of 3 with regular reading with
family.
1) Why read to a baby? First of all, it is together time for you and baby. Reading becomes
a positive memory that babies associate with time spent with mom, dad, siblings, and
grandparents. When children enter Kindergarten with a positive attitude about reading,
it has an incredibly helpful effect on their entire K-12 education – and beyond.
2) Secondly, it gives you something to talk about with baby! Read the book and share your
thoughts. Babies need to hear lots of words.
3) Another reason is developing early literacy concepts like parts of a book, how to turn
pages, and vocabulary.
“Children’s academic successes at ages 9 and 10 can be
attributed to the amount of talk they hear from birth through
age 3.” (Hart, Risley 1995)
And bonus! Most baby board books are short and sweet, requiring less than five minutes to
read. Finally, before you know it, they will be reading on their own and bringing you books to
read to them.
I will never forget the first time Josie brought me a book and wanted me to read to her. I
thought, this will never get old. It did. But I still read to her every day, and I enjoy it most
days.