Toddler reading

Research suggests that reading to your child from an early age lays a great foundation for literacy later on in life. However getting a busy toddler to sit quietly can be difficult. Here are some tips for reading with toddlers:

• Use lots of different voices and change your pitch to capture their attention.

• Allow the toddler to turn the pages and explore the book. It's OK if you don't read all the words or even all the pages of a book. Ask your child for help to find things on a page.

• Let the toddler choose from a selection of three of four books. Praise their selection and be prepared to read the same book over and over. This is great for their development.

• Make sure the selection of books they have to choose from has big bright pictures.

• Make reading fun and do not get upset if they play while you read – the important thing is that you have read aloud to them.

• Make reading part of the bedtime routine.

Reading with toddler