Tips4Toddlers Guide to Help Your Toddler Read.

Reading stories to toddlers helps them acquire language and literacy skills.

Everyday experiences are full of opportunities to engage in conversation and develop language skills.

• It helps to develop their cognitive skills by developing their ability to develop and understand what is being said to them.

• It provides them with knowledge of the world around them which then helps them to make sense of what they see, hear and read.

The more you read aloud to your toddler, the larger their vocabularies will grow and the more they will know and understand about the world and their place in it. This will then assist them in their cognitive development and perception.

1. Ask your toddler what book they would like to read. This develops their confidence and independence.

2. Encourage your toddler to hold the book and turn the pages. This will refine and strengthen their fine motor skills.

3. Look at the pictures and alert your toddler to the little objects on the page. This will develop their visual awareness.

4. Ask questions to your toddler about what you have just read. This will develop their memory skills.

‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you will go.’ Dr Suess

Tips4Toddler Guide to Help your Toddler Read

1. Don’t expect your toddler to sit still for long periods of time - Choose short books to keep their attention and use different voices to tell the stories and encourage them to join in wherever possible.

2. Choose engaging books. Encourage your toddler to look at it and explore it with new eyes. Focus on the child’s interests and choose a book from there.

3. Read stories that your toddler knows. Pause at intervals to encourage them to ‘read’ the next word or change the main character to your toddlers name.

4. Ask your toddler questions about the book. By doing this you are developing their attention and memory skills.

5. Switch off the television and radio – background noise makes it harder for your toddler to listen to you.

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