Reading with Young Children

As children move into the second year of life, they begin to talk. Some can even use short sentences to describe what they want—"BOOK!" Up the interaction even more. Again, don't worry about reading through the entire book quickly or limiting the child's interruptions. The foremost goal is not to finish the book; it is to explore it together and have fun.

During this time, children may request the same story repeatedly. Toddlers are beginning to understand that there are patterns to language and becoming most comfortable with the patterns of their native tongue. Now introduce books with lots of rhyme, rhythm, and repetition of beginning sounds; try any title of Dr. Seuss, poetry, the Little Bear series by Else Holmelund Minarik, or interactive touchable books like Let's Start Classic Songs: Wheels on the Bus by Todd South—a fun new pop-up book.

As your child's attention span grows, you can choose longer books or longer reading sessions and sprinkle them throughout the day. Make sure a collection of the books you read is kept on the child's level in his room or another commonly used room in the house. As he becomes more mobile and chooses activities, you want books to be a convenient choice. Parents are often concerned about children chewing on books or tearing them, so supervision is necessary—but gentle guidance and modeling of how to handle a book go a long way to minimize this.