mother reading to infant
To all my fellow new moms out there -- I have yet another task to add to your list. Yes, one more thing! Read out loud to your baby every single day. Even the very tiniest babies can benefit intellectually and emotionally from daily reading aloud. If you already are in the habit of reading a few books out loud to your baby, well done! But, if you’re like me, a new mom in every sense, you had no idea just how important reading out loud to a baby from day one really is.
Julie Gerber, longtime Naples resident and new mom, is a literacy development expert. Julie holds a master’s degree in Reading, Writing, and Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Wheaton College. She’s spent over a dozen years as an educator, both as a classroom teacher and reading specialist. As if those credentials weren’t impressive enough, Julie has studied and worked with the Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University and several literacy experts affiliated with that project at Columbia.
Julie recently sat down with me and explained the importance of reading aloud every day to my own baby.
Anna: What are some things new parents can do to support their infant’s literacy development? How do these steps set the stage for future success?
Julie: From the beginning, parents can read and sing to their babies, make up chants, and recite nursery rhymes and the like. These simple things are crucial to helping your child build vocabulary, which is a primary indicator of academic success and future success in general. As crazy as it might seem, the number of words with which a child enters kindergarten predicts their reading success and achievement in general. When we read to our children, we’re exposing them to words--the words that will help them grow their understanding of the world and inspire them to learn and discover. The more we repeat these words in well-known songs, books, and rhymes, the more these words become familiar to our little ones.
For example, and very practically, rhyming is an essential phonemic awareness skill that helps pave the way for your child to become a reader. The more we rhyme with our children, the more their brains are ready to anticipate rhymes. Rhyming teaches children that they can predict the word that is coming next--something they will eventually be able to do with non-rhyming words.
The evidence that reading to your child daily is a primary component of academic and future success is so undeniable that the American Academy of Pediatrics has recently refined its recommendations to urge pediatricians to not only encourage parents in feeding and sleeping routines for their babies, but also in their daily reading routines as well.
Anna: Why should I care about literacy development at this stage of my baby’s life? School seems so far away.
Julie: As parents, we might think we send our children to school to learn to read or to be academically successful. However, it’s the foundation with which they walk into school that effectively determines how they will do. It’s what we do with our children from birth to age four that gives them the vocabulary, the interest, and the love of learning that will pave their way.
It’s easier to develop habits when your child is a baby. There are things that my husband and I do with our son now that are helping us develop a tradition and routine, so we’re not scrambling to establish it when it’s difficult or too late. Our children are sponges. They’re absorbing so much of what’s going on around them. When we fill that with early literacy activities (singing, reading, rhyming, chanting), we’re helping them create a foundation for everything else in their lives.
As you develop good habits related to literacy, consider the importance of regular visits to the library with your baby, along with taking your baby to literacy-based activities, such as local story times. These lifestyle routines help create a family culture of literacy and a love of reading and learning, all of which set the stage for future success.
Anna: What if my baby seems like she isn’t paying attention?
Julie: Whether or not it seems like she’s paying attention, keep at it! Especially when they’re in their earliest stages, your voice is one of the primary ways that your child knows you. Her eyesight is still developing, but she knows your touch, and your voice is something she’s been listening to since she was in the womb. Reading, chanting, and singing are all ways to help your child hone her listening skills.
Now, when your baby gets older, you have to be a little more flexible. If my son wants to play with blocks instead of listen to a book, I need to roll with that. I don’t want to make reading tedious. I have to choose my reading times wisely--right before or after a nap, when he’s looking to cuddle, etc. I want to find the books he’s interested in, not just the ones I like. My goal is for him to love and look forward to reading, not to cram books and words down his throat!
Anna: Do you have a suggestion for a book I can read on ways to support my child’s literacy development?
Julie: The first book that comes to mind is Reading Magic by Mem Fox. Mem is a beloved children’s author, a professor, and a mother. She understands the importance of reading to children on every level. It’s such a perfect resource that I have a hard time suggesting anything else.
Anna: What are some suggestions for books I can read to my infant?
Julie: Books with repetition, predictable patterns, rhymes, eye-catching illustrations, and/or a sing-song pattern are all good. In our house, Dear Zoo, The Early Bird, I Went Walking, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Baby Beluga, and Down by the Bay are all well-loved.
I hope you found Julie’s suggestions as helpful as I did. Making literacy development and reading aloud an integral part of your family’s unique culture sets the stage for future academic success. Your children will be forever grateful for your commitment and consistency!