6 Benefits of Reading for Your Baby
There is no minimum age to start educating a child – and this is also true for encouraging reading. Anyone who thinks reading books and storytelling is important just for bigger kids is wrong. There are many benefits that contact with books, even in early childhood, can provide.
Reading for babies assists in the development of various psychological functions, such as the development of language, memory, and logical reasoning. Also, the moment of close reading strengthens the emotional connection between you and your baby.
Educators argue that the benefits of reading are incalculable and lifelong. Here are five important reasons to insert this habit into your day to day life with your child.
1. Helps the development of language
Have you ever wondered why some children learn to speak earlier than others? The answers are related to the stimulation babies receive from their parents and the people around them. One of these stimuli for language development is reading.
Your child may not yet understand the whole plot of a story, but reading aloud puts you in touch with other dimensions of oral and written languages, which will be important in your development.
International studies presented during the 2009 edition of the Book Biennial pointed out that three-year-old children who already have a habit of reading in the family have a vocabulary that is 300% bigger than those that did not grow up surrounded by books.
2. Develop logical thinking
In contact with the book (over and over in some cases), your child is learning the elements of the story and thus also learns to develop logical reasoning.
Most children’s stories teach playfully to understand cause and consequence. In addition, there is the learning of common and fundamental values in the formation of the child, such as friendship and honesty, for example. With reading, there is also the development of consciousness and self-knowledge.
3. Stimulates the imagination
Through the stories, your baby is able to experience new emotions like danger, mystery and joy. The book is a passport to a magical world, where his son is also presenting to the world of the arts, through illustrations, pictures and drawings.
Reading increases the child’s ability to listen, develops critical sense, broadens the range of experiences, and creates new alternatives for fun and enjoyment. She imagines what she has not seen and has been able to immerse herself in the character’s emotional situation, proving different sensations.
4. Minimize future learning problems
When fed from the earliest months of life, the reading habit has a positive influence not only on literacy but also on cognitive development in general – which is key to success in school.
Reading to children before literacy will create the most important of all that is the bond with reading. From there, the child, accustomed to this activity, will continue to practice without pain, without sacrifices and, automatically, will learn more and more – at home and at school – without needing so much mediation.
Stimulating reading from the cradle, with babies who have not yet learned to speak, may be the shortest way to form a future reader.
5. Create discipline and attention
For children under three years of age, reading aloud helps awaken their sensitivity to different speech intonations and still has the positive effect on so-called selective attention.
By reading, your child may develop the ability to disconnect from other stimulus sources by staying focused on one activity for longer periods.
However, it is worth remembering that babies or very young children usually have a short attention span. To dribble this dispersion, the reading moments must be dynamic and engaging, and therefore the choice of the appropriate book is fundamental.
There are now on the shelves a myriad of books with curious illustrations, with sound effects and various other elements that become irresistible when it comes to catching the baby’s attention
6. Unique moments between mother and son
Finally, perhaps the most important reason for reading to the baby is the emotional connection between your lap, your voice, your love, and your books.
Storytelling provides unique moments among you that are important to his emotional development and will certainly always be kept in his memory.
Do not wait! Reading aloud to your baby is a wonderful activity that you can share with him right away.
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