Reading to your baby

One of the most enjoyable activities to engage with your baby is reading. There is not a right time to start reading and sharing books with your baby. Babies can hear your voice even before they are born. Reading to them, helps build a connection that provides safety and helps the baby’s social and emotional development. After all, they have your undivided attention and that is all they need. It can also become a part of the baby’s bedtime routine when you cuddle up together somewhere cosy. Reading, as much as talking to your baby, links the sounds to the pictures, helping future language development. Encourage your baby to lift the flaps, turn the pages and participate. Praise them every time they do, and you will sustain their interest in books through the years to come.

During the first month or two, babies can see black and white and possible grey. Newborns are attracted to light and that is why you will see them turning their heads towards the window or blink when there is a bright light. Nowadays there is a variety of black and white books you can choose from but there is always the option for you to get creative and make your own using black pen on paper. Keeping the book close (20-30 cm) away will help your baby see the pictures. After the second month, the baby starts distinguishing colours and getting fascinated by them. That is when you can start sharing books with bright colours with them or even photos of you and your family. Things hidden under flaps and different textures can also be very interesting for your baby during the first few months of life, when senses are developing fast. You don’t necessarily have to read the words in the book. It is the power of the pictures and the familiar sound of your voice as well as the different sounds in the book that your baby will enjoy the most.

For more information: 

Black and white books | Words for Life                              

When to start and how to do it

Book suggestions