Reading Feelings: Emotional Development and Literacy

A: You can start reading to your baby before they are born.  An unborn baby can already hear sounds from around 20 weeks.

A: Read books that have a high contrast, such as black and white books, as these will stimulate their vision development.

A: If you ensure that the book is designed especially for a very young baby, then yes, it is very safe.

A: When a baby puts the book into their mouth, they are ‘reading’ it by exploring using their senses. Different textures stimulate their development.

A: The ‘Indestructible’ range of books is recommended as they are safe and especially designed for very young children.

A: I recommend that books that your baby will be putting in their mouth should be their own copies.

A: Reading a bedtime story is the bare minimum.  Try to ensure that you and members of your family read to your baby as often as possible during the day.

A: Remember that you are not reading with your baby to teach them how to read. The most important aspect of reading with your baby is to teach them to LOVE stories.  This will give them the motivation later to want to learn how to read.

A: One way that carefully chosen storybooks help children’s emotional development by proving them with feelings words.