Start reading to your children from the time they鈥檙e born.
That鈥檚 the advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a new indicates more parents are doing just that. It makes a difference. By age 2, children who are regularly read to have a bigger vocabulary and better language comprehension.
Literacy experts say there鈥檚 no wrong way to read to a child, but there are better ways to engage your little one with books.
It鈥檚 called active reading - making sure you鈥檙e reading with your child, not just to them.
鈥淚 do not want them to open a book. This is the first page. This is the last page. We鈥檙e done. I want them to to look into the child鈥檚 eyes. I want them to see engagement,鈥� says Susan Neuman, professor of childhood and literacy development at New York University.
We caught up with Neuman and New York-area librarians to get their advice for parents on how best to read to your child. They鈥檙e experimenting with reading to children in laundromats, partly to help model active reading techniques for parents. (The laundromat effort is a joint project of the Coin Laundry Assocation, public libraries, the Clinton Foundation鈥檚 鈥淭oo Small To Fail鈥� iniatitive and Libraries Without Borders.)
Should you spend 20 minutes a day with a book in hand and your child by your side? What鈥檚 the best way to best way to improve a child鈥檚 vocabulary, language skills, and reading comprehension?
Here are some tips to help make reading to children a pleasure - for both parent and child.
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