Babies Love to Read

• 5 Stars
• Supports home learning

Around 80% of growth in the brain occurs in the first three years of a child’s life. Young minds are processing information and soaking everything in. Due to a baby’s lack of understanding, some adults may think babies are too young to be read to. However, the reality is that it is never too early to start engaging with books. Reading is a precious life skill, and reading to a very young baby has more benefits than some may realise.

Too young for reading?

Regular reading to babies allows them to hear language – how it is used, how it is expressed, how it sounds and how it is communicated. Though babies won’t necessarily understand the words, seeing how adults communicate and give meaning to words will add to their early literacy foundation. Research has shown that babies who are spoken to regularly have greater developed language skills than in those who are not spoken to regularly. Consequently, by the time they start reception class, children who have experienced regular shared reading will have heard a greater amount of words than those for which shared reading was absent in the home. Studies have also shown that regular shared reading with babies has a positive impact on their expressive language. This power of hearing words through talk and reading helps babies build on their ability to remember, reason and conceptualise.