Why it’s important to read with babies
Reading books, talking about pictures, sharing stories, and singing rhymes and songs help your baby’s development in many ways.
Benefits of reading to your baby
- Helps your baby get familiar with books and stories and lays the foundation for reading later in life
- Builds your baby’s early language skills and early literacy skills
- Stimulates your baby’s imagination and helps them learn about the world around them
- Can build early understanding of diversity if you read stories with characters from diverse backgrounds
- Is a great way for you to share time together and bond with your baby
- Supports your baby’s mental health
- Can help your child do better at school
When should you start reading to your baby?
You can start reading to your baby from birth if you like. Your baby will love being held in your arms, listening to your voice, hearing rhyme and rhythm, and looking at pictures.
What to expect when you read with your baby
As babies develop in the first year of life, the way they engage with books changes.
The first 3-6 months
Your baby might enjoy sitting on your lap and gazing at the pictures while you slowly read aloud. They might pay attention to the book for only a few minutes.
By 6 months
Your baby will start to take a more active role in story time. Your baby might:
- grab, pat, handle or even try to chew books
- communicate with you by cooing, babbling and smiling.
By 9 months
Your baby will start to engage more directly with the words and pictures in books. Your baby might:
- babble while looking at pictures
- try to lift up flaps
- want to hold books
- try to turn pages.
By 12 months
Your baby will love being involved in story time at this age. Your baby:
- can turn the book the right way up, point to pictures, and make animal noises or car and truck sounds
- might start to imitate you and use words to name what they see
- might even enjoy looking at books by themselves
- will like to carry books around (if they’re walking)
- will probably want you to read their favourite books many times.
How to read with your baby
Tips to help your baby learn and develop through reading
- Read slowly and spend time looking at the pictures after you read the words. This lets your baby focus on the sounds and shapes of words and also on pictures.
- Turn the pages slowly. This shows your baby how to use a book.
- Point out, name and talk about things your baby sees on the page, instead of only reading the words. For example, ‘That’s a bunny. Look. The bunny is hopping away’.
- Change the tone of your voice as you read. This makes it easier for your baby to notice different speech sounds, which is an important step towards learning to talk.
- Read, sing and tell stories with your baby in whatever language you feel most comfortable speaking.
Tips to help you make the most of reading time with your baby
- Make a routine and try to share at least one book every day. But follow your baby’s lead. There’ll be days when your baby doesn’t feel like reading, and that’s OK.
- Create a comfortable, quiet reading space. It could have a pile of books and a comfy chair where you can cuddle while you read. Turn off the TV, radio, phones and other noisy distractions if you can.
- Hold your baby close or on your knee while you read, so they can see your face, your gestures and the book.
- Use gestures and facial expressions to get your baby’s attention and add meaning to words and pictures.
- Try out funny noises and sounds – play and have fun!
- Make connections between the pictures in books and your baby’s life. For example, you could say, ‘There’s a teddy. You’ve got a teddy like that, haven’t you?’
- Be prepared to read the same story many times. Young children like repetition, and it helps them learn.
Visit your local library – it’s free to join and borrow books. The staff will be able to recommend age-appropriate books for you and your baby to enjoy. Many libraries also offer free story time sessions for babies and their parents or carers.
What are the best books for babies?
The best books for babies are books with good rhymes, regular rhythm and repetition. Rhymes, rhythm and repetition emphasise the way words sound, which helps with language development.
What to look for in books for babies
- Bright colours or simple, large and high-contrast pictures like black and white pictures – these are interesting and easy for babies to focus on
- Different textures so your baby can hear, see and feel the book
- Pictures of babies and faces, including from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds
- Stiff cardboard and just a few pages – these are easy for babies to hold and handle
- Themes that babies can relate to, like books about bathing, feeding, playing and spending time outside
Book suggestions for babies
- Aussie babies can by Magabala Books
- Boo! by Margaret Wild
- Brown bear brown bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin Junior
- Crocodile beat by Gail Jorgensen
- Everywhere babies by Susan Meyers
- How many kisses do you want tonight? by Varsha Bajaj
- In the bush I see by Kiara Honeychurch
- I went walking by Sue Machin
- Moo, baa, la la la! by Sandra Boynton
- Polar bear polar bear, What do you hear? by Bill Martin Junior
- Ten little fingers and ten little toes by Mem Fox
- Ten little owls by Renee Treml
- Walking through the jungle by Julie Lacome
- Where’s my baby? by Gregg Dreise
- Who? A celebration of babies by Robie Harris
For more story ideas, let storyteller Anne E. Stewart introduce you and your baby to ‘Mook Mook the owl’, ‘The crocodile’ and ‘The old lady and the mosquito’.