As I read to my son over the first two years of his life, I often
wondered how he interpreted the words, the pictures, and my tone of
voice. When he lay on my lap at eight weeks, gazing at a bathrobe
and a sandbox in Lucy Cousins' Maisy's Colors, how did he process
these images? When he chose Richard Scarry's Humperdink's Busy Day
over My First Body Board Book at 20 months, what attracted him to
one and not the other?
Literacy experts do not understand everything about how very young
children's brains interact with books, but they do know that babies
and toddlers respond to different elements of the reading
experience. Here's a guide into what might be going on in your
little one's brain as you read 'Jamberry' one more time.
Young Babies: It's About Attitude
For newborns, reading primarily fosters relationships with
caregivers and creates positive attitudes toward books. In the
first half of the first year, adults are laying a foundation for
the baby to associate reading with happiness and connection.
"Newborns really are not so much interested in the books as
they're interested in the comfort and closeness of being held and
the rhythm and the intonation of their adults' voices," says Dr.
Ann Barbour, PhD, professor of early childhood education at
California State University, To promote this closeness, parents can
read lullabies or nursery rhymes while holding babies in a
comfortable position, Dr. Barbour says.
Newborns tend to enjoy looking at pictures of the human face,
according to Drs. Stephen Herb and Sara Willoughby-Herb, PhDs, in
their book Using Children's Books in Preschool Settings. At this
age, parents can "choose a few books that baby likes and reread
them regularly."
In addition, young infants "can really see vivid colors" and may
like books that reflect that preference, says Sherry Wong, director
of product strategy at the Talaris Research Institute in Seattle.
The institute communicates research on early childhood development
to parents.
Developmentally, hearing spoken language at an early age "promotes
the development of speech centers in the brain," allowing a baby to
discriminate among and recognize different sounds, says Dr. Bob
Stevens, PhD, associate professor of educational psychology at Penn
State University. This "phonemic awareness" can help kids better
understand a wide range of vocabulary words as they grow
older.
However, children cannot really understand the content of books
until they comprehend oral language, according to Dr. Margaret
Moustafa, PhD, professor of education at California State
University, "Until children have enough spoken language to
understand books read to them," explains Dr. Moustafa, "all they
can learn from being read to is activities associated with reading,
such as how one turns pages."
Older Babies: I Think This Might Mean Something
During the second half of the first year, children can focus more
on books, partly because they are able to sit up. "It's easier for
me to read when I'm sitting or standing rather than lying down,
too," says Dr. Barbour.
As they move toward age one, children start to understand that
"pictures represent things in their environment," that a picture of
a ball symbolizes a real ball, Dr. Barbour says. Later, kids apply
this connection to other symbols, such as numbers and
letters.
Tapping into this new understanding of symbols, Drs. Herb and
Willoughby-Herb suggest that a parent "point to and label something
on each page" in a basic book. After a number of times reading the
same book, the parent can "encourage baby to point to a particular
item," especially something she likes.
As children approach one year they "are starting to recognize that
books really say something," Dr. Barbour says-that words tell a
story and convey meaning. Dr. Stevens calls this "print awareness"
and sees it as a crucial basis for later formal reading
instruction.
Young Toddlers: I Get It!
The year of astonishing growth from age one to two brings a sense
of mastery and joy with familiar books. This age also introduces a
physicality that parents can incorporate into reading.
If "books are part of [children's] everyday experiences in their
homes-they're familiar, like toys-[kids] really just delight in
being read to," says Dr. Barbour. Young toddlers are much more
interested in a book's content than they were as babies and often
treat reading as a "peek-a-boo game," wanting to know what is on
the next page, she adds.
As children begin speaking a few words, it is important to provide
simple picture books that they can label and begin to repeat back
to the parent, Wong says. Later in the second year, many toddlers
also like rhyming books.
At this stage it is especially important to provide resilient
board books for the child "so that she can 'read' and turn pages
independently," say Drs. Herb and Willoughby-Herb. These authors
also suggest setting up an easily accessible bookshelf or other
area so the child "can find her own books and put them away,"
contributing to a sense of accomplishment in reading.
Given young toddlers' fascination with moving around, what should
parents do to keep them interested while reading? Most important,
experts say, is to follow the child's cues and not force the
issue.
"Maybe the worst thing the parents can do is say, 'It's reading
time,'" and march through the book page by page until they finish,
says Wong. Instead, just keep reading while the child moves around.
"They can be walking around the room, they can be crawling around
the floor-you're still telling a story," Wong says. Reading at this
age continues to be about associating books with pleasure and
relationships, not about sitting absolutely quietly.
There are books out there for every child, "even the little people
who hustle about and really don't sit still," says Dr. Herb, who is
director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book at Penn State
University. He also suggests taking advantage of natural "pin-down"
times to read, such as highchair feeding or bedtime.
Two and Beyond: Interaction Is It
As they begin to talk, children transition from labeling pictures
to having a dialogue with books. At this time, it is especially
crucial to "follow their interests," says Dr. Moustafa, such as the
moon or trucks or even car exhaust pipes. As parents talk with
their children about a passion, these conversations help create
children's "'schemas,' or knowledge of the world," Dr. Moustafa
says, allowing kids to make more sense of the subject.
Also key is to discuss stories with kids and make sure they
understand the language and the meaning. "It is OK to focus on
words," such as, "Do you know what gigantic means?" and then talk
about how that word appears in the story, says Dr. Stevens.
More generally, parents can read "in a way that enables the child
to comprehend the story," says Dr. Moustafa. "This could mean
anticipating comprehension problems or responding to the child's
questions." If a parent simply reads through a story in lockstep,
without stopping for questions or checking to see if a child
understands, the child might physically remove herself from the
room in frustration, Dr. Moustafa says.
At Any Age: Follow Your Child's Lead
During all stages of pre-reading development, parents can do the
best for their children by noticing and responding to their cues,
such as preferences for certain books and the desire to sit still
or move around while reading. Parents will then "set the stage for
children wanting to read," Dr. Barbour says, and make reading part
of everyday life.
By reading to their children frequently in this interactive and
nurturing way, parents will also help kids develop skills that will
help them in school, especially the ability to focus. "You can
teach kids about phonemes, but if they can't pay attention long
enough to sound out a word, to see how print flows on the page,"
Wong says, "then all the techniques in the world aren't going to
help."
However, literacy experts strongly caution parents against trying
to teach formal reading skills to young children-rather, parents
should focus on building relationships.
Above all, parents should have a light touch when reading aloud to
infants and toddlers. "The key word in all of this is play," Dr.
Herb says. "If you treat prereading activities as playful, language
as play . . . it's much more likely you'll have a highly literate
and early literate child."
Sarah Cooper is a writer and middle school history teacher
whose columns and features have appeared in a variety of magazines,
websites, and newspapers. She lives with her husband and young son
in Pasadena, California. This article is kindly provided by:
