Reading Time for You and Your Toddler

Little ones love story time and reading together can be a fun activity. It can provide an opportunity for some great quality time together and includes many benefits for your toddler, including:

• Helping them to learn about the world around them
• Developing their literacy skills, including listening, speaking, reading and writing
• Improving their concentration and attention span
• Stimulating their imagination.

Here Are Some Easy Tips That Can Help Make For A Successful Reading Time:

• Sit with your toddler on your lap or close to you
• Start off with some simple stories that have repetitive rhymes
• Make sure the books have clear and easy text with large and bright pictures
• Let your toddler choose the book and ask them to help hold it and turn the pages
• Read books that relate to their experiences or about their favourite things, such as cars or princesses
• Point to the pictures in the book and tell or ask them what they are
• Try to be expressive when reading, to help keep your toddler engaged
• Visit your local library. Staff can assist by recommending books that are toddler favourites
• Have a routine and try to read at least one book together every day. You could have reading time as part of your toddler’s bedtime ritual
  
• Toddlers love to hear their favourite book read over and over again. This may drive you crazy, but after a while you may find that your toddler is reading along with you
• If your toddler isn’t interested the first few times you read to them keep trying as persistence is usually the key.