Reading Can Improve Your Life and Your Toddler’s Life Right Now and, in the Future

 Reading to our children even before birth can substantially increase not only academic success but social and psychological well-being. Children who are read to, become readers. Reading opens new worlds of knowledge, experience, motivation, and self-help. Readers are better writers, better communicators, and better learners. Reading is an essential life skill for following instructions, reading maps, following recipes just to name a few. Without reading life experience and exploration are limited.  Reading to toddlers can be challenging.

Toddlers want to move. They want to explore their world, they want to pull everything out of drawers, climb furniture. The power to move and move things is exhilarating. It’s a newfound ability and they want to sharpen their new skills. Baby proof and do not worry about the mess. Sit back, watch and enjoy their antics but don’t forget about reading.

Reading to Your Child Will Improve Your Relationship

Our children need connection, we as parents need connection. Humans need real life face to face physical connection to feel emotionally connected. Sharing a book is sharing an experience, it’s feeling physically, emotionally and intellectually connected. Your toddler needs to roam and explore but they are also need comfort, quiet time, and human connection. Using media to entertain our kids should be the exception not the rule. It’s very detrimental to their long-term mental health, academic success and overall well-being. Take notice yourself how your toddler responds and behaves after sharing a book reading and after a media viewing.

What if Your Toddler Doesn’t Want to Read?

We have an idealized image of sitting in the nursery with a sleepy toddler cuddled up against our chest reading Goodnight Moon, but what if that’s not what happens? What if your toddler just isn’t into reading? What if they squirm, on your lap, grab the book and toss it on the floor laughing at their own antics and your frustration? This is exactly what happened to me with my eldest son.

I had expectations of a loving bedtime routine, ending with snuggles and cuddles of shared reading. My son wanted no part of it. He squirmed, turned pages, grabbed the book, poked fingers into my eyes and nose. I was frustrated, disappointed, and exasperated about what to do! This was supposed to be a loving bonding time but was turning into a miserable frustrating plight. I spoke to wiser more experienced mother and she advised me, just let him play while you read. Not the bonding experience I was hoping for, but parenting is about sacrificing for our children. At that time, I didn’t understand the true benefits of reading to children even toddlers because I had not started teaching yet but I did learn to expand our reading beyond the bedtime routine.

Make Books a Part of Their World

I realized books belong in the playroom, nursery, living room, kitchen, car, diaper bag wherever toddlers are books should be. Let them explore and enjoy books on their own terms. They may crawl up on your lap when feeling vulnerable or tired, a book can provide a warm comforting moment. They may also grab a book open it, flip through a few pages and toss it aside. But let them feel, look at and listen to books. In today’s world it’s easy to give your toddler a phone, iPad or tablet but this is really a disservice to them. Give them books, read them books. Print Books are Better Than Digital Ones.

Books That Go VROOM

In the car you obviously want to maintain safety, you don’t want to be turning around trying to read or grab books from the floor. Keep multiple books along with other toys within reach of your toddler, a small tote beside or between car seats, or an organizer hanging in front of the toddler. The toddler can reach a fun, sing along, noise making book to make the ride time fly. Use sturdy board books or soft material books, if thrown on the floor they will survive. A few great choices Vroom, Vroom, Trucks! , Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You, The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round. Depending on your toddlers verbal ability, which varies widely, you can follow their lead or lead with  boisterous gusto, keep your eyes on the road and completely rely on vocals.

The Perfect Diaper Bag Book is Light but Insightful

Every mother of a toddler is already carrying around a mountain of gear beyond diapers: food, drink, toys clothes, perhaps medicine so diaper bag books should be light,  but engaging. These books pulled out in a waiting room, a long line, wherever you maybe can be lifesaving, preventing embarrassing tantrums of a bored inpatient toddler. They need to not only be light but relativity inexpensive, these books are at risk of being left behind on a train, in a waiting room or dropped in the mall. Inexpensive paper back is best, if it’s lost you don’t have to trample back looking for it. There’s a whole array of sticker books which are perfect, the activity of sticking  can keep your toddler engaged even if when you’re not. The trick is not to have them available all the time or the novelty will wear off quickly.  Surprising to me is how much toddlers love the I Spy books. My children received them as gifts. It’s not a story, it’s point and say but my sons love them and so do my grandchildren. It’s great game for them to point and say and have you say and the friendly older lady behind you in the grocery line say. It’s perfect for outings, and it’s an off shoot to playing the I spy game in the bank, train station where if not kept busy boredom can lead to problems.  In my experience the more you keep your toddler busy the more time you have with less whining, tantrums and sibling rivalry. The peace of mind is worth a little extra time in preparation and the little extra weight in your diaper bag.

In the Kitchen

Of course, you can include any hardy book which will with stand splashes, spills and mucky hands. But if you want reading for specific purposes include recipe books for toddlers like Little Helpers Toddlers Cookbook or a thematic classic like The Little Red Hen. To help your toddler understand and feel empathy you can include books like  Maddi’s Fridge that  show children living in poverty so your toddler will began to understand appreciate diversity in lifestyles. In between stirring pasta sauce or flipping pancakes you and your toddler can incorporate reading for multipurposes. Your toddler will grow to understand and appreciate food availability, preparation, and social ethics around food naturally without lectures.

Facilitate Cognitive Understanding

Toddlers are naturally egocentric; they see everything from their own viewpoint. Reading stories about other children can facilitate cognitive understanding of other people’s needs. The Best Behaviour Series is great way to help your child learn positive social behavior. The books focus on solving problems using words not hitting, kicking or biting, which are common toddler behaviors when frustrated, angry or even just tired.

Books to Grow With

Somewhere in your home build a library your toddler can grow with, this is where you’ll keep you more expensive resource books: dictionaries, science, religious, diversity, atlas’s, classics, puzzles and educational games. Depending on your lifestyle and living space this can be in the nursery, living room or playroom. It should be a calm reading nook you create with a shelf, soft carpet, cushions, child chair or desk whatever makes you and your child comfortable. This is where they can be taught how to treat books, quiet library manners, shelving and storing books.  This may seem in opposition to having books available for exploration with discovery at the toddler’s demand but toddlers are smarter and more sophisticated than we often give them credit. They can learn and understand that books have different purposes are created from different materials just like they figure out which parent is easier to get treats from. They know!  They’ll figure out, it’s okay to rough up the sturdy board books in the car or crumple a sticker book but an atlas or dictionary should be treated with more care. There are different expectations based on the value you place on it not necessary the monetary value.

Reading Will Improve their Relationship with the World

Reading can expose them to fun rhymes, entertaining stories, community structure, how things are made, the list goes on. They will understand that books are means of entertainment, companionship, and opportunities. They will internalize knowledge through their listening of you reading.  You can’t be replaced by a device. Reading will open their exposure; they will have a wider view of the world with its multitude of opportunities. In your reading nook include maps, globes, an abacus, pattern blocks, paper, pencils and crayons allow them to explore the world and begin self-expression through play. Children learn best when they are encouraged to explore, interact, create, and play.

Reading will Improve Academic Performance.

Reading comprehension is a core skill for academic achievement. It enables independent learning with ability to understand written instructions. Written word is different from oral language, early reading experience helps a child internalize written conventions. When they reach school, they already know a lot about books. They will know there’s a wide variety of reading purposes. They will know correct intonation, how reading is supposed to sound. They will know reading should be fast and fluent with pauses related to meaning. This will be internalized from listening to fluent reading. They will know words can rhyme; words need to put in order to make sense. Reading words for themselves will be a natural extension of   what they’ve heard you reading since babyhood or before. Research shows, children who are read to more frequently have higher reading skills as measured by parents and teachers at age 4-5.

Children Who Are Read to, Have Better Reading Comprehension.

Later as I spent time in the classroom and was exposed to children from diverse backgrounds, it became clear that children who were read to, had better reading comprehension. They read with proper intonation. They read independently for pleasure. They had better writing skills. Reading and writing skills cannot be over emphasized, they flow over into all other academic subjects and even social prowess

One of the most excruciatingly painful experiences for a teacher is listening to a completely phonetic reader. The child reads the sounds correctly but slowly and flat, with no understanding.  It has been noted that children may rely on intonation for comprehension to a greater extent than adults . It’s a tragedy, the child reads without any purpose they are literally just making sounds. If a child cannot understand, they cannot gain knowledge from reading, they cannot enjoy reading. Reading is laborious and hateful. This is an injustice to the child. Can this be rectified? Of course, but with today’s digital diversion this is harder than ever before.

Reading Run Around

I was given good advice which I followed, and my son benefitted. Instead of sitting in a comfy rocker snuggly and sharing the book. I sat on the ground reading, while my toddler ran around pushing cars, and tossing blocks and pulling things apart. Once and a while he would come over and look at the pictures. Through this he learned what reading sounds like, he internalized narrative, he internalized correct reading intonation. He learned that reading is fun and beneficial not horrible boring laborious school chore forced on students. All of this was lost on me at the time. I just read because I knew it was important and it was expected of me as a diligent parent. His reading reluctance expanded my view of parent reading possibilities.

As a teacher, I observed children who had very limited reading exposure some of them took off, once they were exposed, reading came to them easily and they loved stories and their ability to read opened a new world for them. Others read phonetically with no understanding, they needed extra time, often not available in the classroom.  

Finding Books Cheap

Libraries

You maybe be thinking this is going to be very expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Local public libraries can be great resources borrowing books usually completely free. You can keep changing books out for variety, you can also test books to see if they are worth purchasing. I advise you to keep these books in a separate bag or bin rather than mixing in with home books, so returning is easy just pick up the entire bag and go with less chance of losing books and having to pay. Include teaching your toddler library books need to be taken care of them and returned  so other children can also benefit. This narrative will need to be told over and over again but eventually will be internalized.

Book Clubs

Book clubs where you subscribe and receive books on schedule are great, it’s exciting for your toddler to receive, it saves you time and they often offer good deals but read the fine print to avoid any overcharges or surprise fees.

Gifts

Letting relatives know which books you and your toddler are interested in can not only make gift giving easier but it’s also a gift that will be used and enjoyed sending a thank you message with a photo of child using the book will not make the relative very happy maybe more books will come. Don’t be afraid to say “books” when asked what your toddler needs and even send links to specific books, you’re interested in to avoid getting doubles or titles you’re not interested in.

Second Hand

There are ample used books available in garage sale, online groups or community sales, thrift stores, schools and libraries often hold inventory sales. Building a library can be done very economically.

Increase Reading Time

Toddler years are important developmental years, often formative in our self-esteem, trust in the world around us especially parents. We often carry these feelings through into adulthood. Reading during these crucial toddler years sets your child up for life success.  We don’t know what they will be faced in their future with but reading and writing are life changing tools. Children will know and believe they can research and find solutions to life problems. Knowledge is power. Reading is an essential skill for acquiring knowledge and connection to the world.

Whatever books you have right now, spread them throughout your living space, vehicle, travel bag increase reading time, increase connectivity have more fun.  You and your toddler can read anywhere and everywhere just like Spiderman!