Diving into the world of books!
While sharing stories with your child, you may not realise it but you are developing their language, vocabulary and communication skills.
You don’t have to be a great reader yourself, just sharing stories with your little one will make a difference and let their imagination run wild.
Stories are a great way to support your child with issues they are facing if they are having a difficult time. This is also a lovely bonding activity for siblings to do together.
The opportunities that a book offers are just endless!
Top tips:
- Find a suitable time: a time when you don’t have to rush and can really enjoy looking at books
- Remove any distractions: turn off the TV/radio and put your phone on silent – this way, your child can clearly hear what you are saying and all the attention is on just being together
- Follow your child’s lead: let them talk about the pictures and what they can see
- Play a guessing game: help your child to predict what will happen next in the story
- Use different voices for different characters: for example, if a character is excited then use an excited voice
- Read in different places: at the park under a tree, at the beach, in the bath, in the garden, in a story den under the table
- Don’t worry if you don’t get to the end of the book: it’s the process of sharing the story together that is the most important thing
