Skills Your Baby Learns from Story Time

Your baby's story time can be fun and exciting -- and vastly beneficial to her development. Here's how you can help Baby grasp important skills for her future.

By Monsicha Hoonsuwan

Kathryn Gamble

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Why Read to Babies

Thirty-five percent of American children start kindergarten without sufficient language skills, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. But reading aloud to your baby helps. Through story time interactions now, your baby will develop abilities -- including language and social skills -- to later advance her school learning. Plus, story time fosters a close emotional relationship between you and your baby. Ruth Anan, Director of the Early Childhood Program at Beaumont Hospital near Detroit, says babies learn to associate books with the pleasure of being with parents, and this pleasure will translate to a love of reading.

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Comments (6)

anonymous wrote:

My grandson is 13 months old and he loves when we read to him. He actually knows what books he wants me or my husband to read to him. When we ask him to point out to a star or a bird or dinasoure he does it. he love books, he will sit down and look through all the books he has around him and talks in his own little language as if he is reading.

4/27/2011 12:42:52 PM Report Abuse

cathyplatiff wrote:

thank u so much on info why read to babies, really enjoyed reading

1/6/2011 12:44:53 AM Report Abuse

zacknbyrd wrote:

I feel that is our special time together setting in my lap and loving the closeness and so does she.Bedtime I believe is the best time they get to wind down.

8/7/2010 09:58:43 PM Report Abuse

jlraab wrote:

When my son (now 15) was a baby, he also used to try to grab and rip the books. I started putting a rattle or another board book into his hands to occupy him, and all was well! Very quickly he learned that listening to the story and talking about the pictures was a lot of fun . . . and it kept Mom's attention focused on him!

7/20/2010 04:04:40 PM Report Abuse

renny888 wrote:

@maria - My recommendation is to read right before bedtime. We started reading to my son EVERY night at around 3-4 months old, and he started reading by age 3. You can get the board books or soft books, if she's trying to eat the pages or rip out the pages. The key is to be consistent, and I'm sure she'll soon LOVE story time! ;)

7/20/2010 09:54:30 AM Report Abuse