Reading to Babies: The Benefits of Starting Early
Did you know that the simple act of reading to your baby can have profoundly positive effects on both their intellectual and emotional development?
Reading to babies is one of the best and cheapest ways to bond with your little one and help their developing brain grow. For a baby, plot and drama don’t matter. Reading is more about the gentle vibrations of your voice, the warmth of your breath as you hold her. Reading to babies provides gentle comfort, rhythmic sounds will calm and stimulate.
How early should you start reading and what are the general benefits of starting early?
Some mothers read to their children while they are still in the womb. Although there have been exaggerated theories about this, reading in the womb definitely encourages speech recognition and provides a sense of comfort for the baby. In cases where the mothers repeatedly read the same passages for months, the babies after birth calmed down and listened when the familiar sounds began.
Listening to the mother’s voice speaking can help a child get used to recognizing that voice, as well as learn the nuances and feelings behind the tone in which something is said. Voice inflection can also make infants and toddlers better readers because they, in turn, will learn to read with the inflection.
Scientific studies investigating the value of fun, early reading experiences for children have shown that reading will positively affect a child’s level of intelligence and confidence and strengthen their social skills as they grow and develop.
Children’s books are made for all ages, from babies up, although mothers who are concerned with speech recognition and the calming effects of reading need not worry about what they read to their babies. You can read the phone book if that’s all you have! The important thing is the calm of your voice and the simple verbalization of the sounds. For really young babies, it can be beneficial to simply repeat a few words in a sweet, soothing tone.
By reading to babies, we start education early. Fun times with a book help children learn to listen, develop longer and stronger attention spans. Reading helps them understand language at an earlier age. A few minutes a day of light reading can also improve your baby’s ability to focus and absorb information at a faster rate, leading to improvements in intelligence.
Above all, reading to a baby can have a calming effect. Often, it doesn’t matter if you’re reading children’s books, poetry, Shakespeare or the TV Guide – the sound of a soft, soothing voice reading will often soothe a baby who is crying, feeling sick or having trouble sleeping, helping him or her to relax. This is partly due to the relaxation felt by the reading party through the simple task of reading the material, where little skill is required.
As you can see, reading children’s books to babies can have a big effect both on your disposition as a baby, and on your future social, intellectual, and emotional aptitude. One of the best things you can do for your baby is simply to read aloud for a few minutes every day, improving awareness and attention span, and giving her a better foundation to build on.