6 Loving Tips On Reading To Newborns & Why It's Never Too Early • love beauty thrive

It’s never too early to start reading to your baby.

One of the most cherished ways to bond with a newborn, reading can comfort and soothe your baby as you rock them to sleep and create your first special memories (over those many, many late nights).

Even at this early age (birth to 6 months), babies are listening to and learning from everything, making reading exceptionally important especially for newborns.

We’ve put together a list of 6 loving tips on reading to newborns and why it’s never too early to get started.

A lifelong love of reading begins with baby’s first library.

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY

Babies are listening to your voice, learning, recognizing, and remembering before they are even born. Start reading aloud to your baby throughout your pregnancy.

READ EVERY DAY

Read together every day (a meaningful way to bond). As you develop a bedtime routine, incorporate reading bedtime stories and lullabies as a special part of your night too.

EVEN JUST A FEW MINUTES

Read with your baby as often as you can. At this stage, narratives and reaching the end of a story are not as important as simply just reading whenever you can (for as long as you are able).

Every minute spent reading together (no matter the material), is a chance for your newborn to hear and learn the flow, expression, and vocabulary of language.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Books for young babies often have boldly colourful and/or high contrast images (e.g., black and white). Best read when your baby is alert and engaged, these visually stimulating, eye-catching illustrations can help develop your baby’s focus and attention (even strengthen their vision).

A COMFORTING VOICE

Calm, soothe, and reassure your baby (while stimulating brain growth/development) with the familiarity of your reading voice. Rhyming and repetition (e.g., nursery rhymes) are perfect (and important) choices.

BABY’S FIRST LIBRARY

Every nursery should have a library, a special area (or shelf) for baby’s first books (and reading time). Your baby will grow up surrounded by stories, knowing reading to be an important, meaningful part of every day.

There are many wonderful first books for babies (classic and recent), with beautiful illustrations and loving, simple stories. Kept as treasured keepsakes, your baby may one day read them to their own newborns.