Shared Reading

Ideally, I would like the parent to feel empowered and go with their gut feeling when it comes to reading, but here are some strategies you might like to keep in mind.

1. Build a Routine- try to pick a time in the day that suits you and your little one (e.g. before nap or bedtime). Try sticking to this and read every day.
2. The Student Becomes the Master - even you are bored of the book, your child will probably love reading some books over and over again. Indulge them. Repetition gives them a chance to internalize the story and master the pieces.
3. Be a Story-Teller-  vary pitch and tone of your voice, exaggerate emotions and moods, create suspense. Remember, we want our kids to love hearing stories, not necessarily books.
4. Be Natural- take cues from your little one to decide the books, how long or short you want the session to be, skip pages or stop if needed. There is no set rule or time frame, you and your little one decide.
5. Worn Out Books Have Had a Good Life- Don’t worry if books gets damaged.
6. Priceless Expressions- Watch your baby’s reactions and respond to their cues.
7. Kids (and Caregivers) Just Wanna Have Fun! Reading is a very natural phenomenon, too much pressure on reading can be intimidating and plenty of young children get tuned off reading early in life because it is a forced habit. When you start reading to your child with pleasure, you will automatically become your child’s favourite story teller. Trust yourself.