Is there such a thing as starting too early, when it comes to reading to your child?
In an interview with Time Magazine, Dr Pamela High said the image of her son’s babysitter reading aloud from a book of her own whilst they sat in a rocking chair made a big impression on her.
Years later, with her son grown-up, Dr High is now the lead author on a new policy paper by the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommending that parents read aloud to children from a young age, “to encourage word learning, literacy and positive family relationships.”
So, does it make sense to start reading to a newborn?
These mums on mumsnet say they started reading to their children from 4 weeks old.
Dr Pamela High can’t really comment on that, due to the fact that most research is centred around “reading children’s books”, rather than children being read aloud to from a parent’s book of choice very early on. It is also very difficult to measure a newborn’s understanding of the words they’re hearing.
But High does say that she thinks when reading aloud to a baby, they “understand the emotion in the words that are being read to them very, very early.”
So it’s important you’re reading a book that you enjoy reading too!
Are you reading Harry Potter or Shakespeare to your little one? Let us know.
Click here to read the full article and book recommendations for young babies of different ages.
Maddie