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If you're a booklover, chances are that you'll pass that passion down to the next generation if or when you have kids of your own.
You'll probably enjoy pulling together your own little library of pediatric publications to read aloud to your babies. The first book I bought once we found out we were expecting was Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd because it was a classic I cherished from my childhood.
I had fond memories of reading it with my parents, and I hoped to continue the tradition by reading the same story to my children in the great green room my husband painted for their nursery.
If you want to watch their love of literature grow as they do, you'll want to make sure they have the opportunity to dive into a story whenever the feeling strikes.
As your kids get older, don't force them to read if they're not in the mood, or you might run into resistance.
Instead, leave a variety of books around for them to notice in their travels throughout the day. The cover art might catch their eye and stop them while they're beelining for a toy. They might decide to pick up the book and peruse it instead.
It might sound silly, but it works. I've watched this happen with my own twins.
There's nothing greater than watching your children use their imaginations, expand their minds, and broaden their vocabularies.
This is why we let them lead the way when it comes to books.
This is why we let them lead the way when it comes to books.
Since they've been old enough, we've let them decide how many books we're reading in any given sitting, whether it's the middle of the day or part of our bedtime routine.
Yes, with this approach, we run the risk of reading a few more books than we might have planned on (which can be a little tiring if we're also tired and are about to fall asleep ourselves), but we also run the much more developmentally-friendly risk of exposing their young and flourishing minds to a greater number of words, which is very much a magnificent thing.
Even when we see they've piled about 17 books on top of the reading chair in their bedroom at bedtime, sometimes, they decide after the fourth book that they're too tuckered out and it's time to hit the hay, anyway.
In those cases, we all win because instead of us saying, "No, we're not reading that many books tonight," we give them the opportunity to read as many as they want to, and they go to bed happy, whether it's after three books or three times as many.
Where would we be without words?
Words. Wonderful words. Where would we be without them?
Vocabulary is the backbone of language. It helps us clearly communicate our thoughts, ideas, and emotions with ease.
According to Merriam-Webster, there are an estimated one million words in the English language vocabulary.
That's a lot of words.
And that's approximately how many words your child can be introduced to if you read them five books a day during their first five years of life, according to a study conducted by an Ohio State University in collaboration with the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Their findings were published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and they showed that children whose parents or caregivers read them five books a day will have heard approximately 1.4 million more words by the time they enter Kindergarten than children who aren't read to.
Those who have even just one book a day read to them will hear nearly 300,000 more words by the time they turn five than those who don't have any books read to them (you can read the full story by Ohio State News, here).
So, if you want to give your twins the Million Word Advantage, read them five books a day.
They don't have to be lengthy, page-bending chronicles. Just a handful of standard, age-appropriate books aimed at your little ones.
Get their minds moving
Whether they're from your personal library or your public library, children's books introduce complex concepts and bigger, more difficult words than likely come up in general conversation at home.
Having a chance to see and hear these sorts of words and ideas on a daily basis could play a role in your children's vocabulary and reading development as they grow.
Beyond simply reading the text in the story, you can sound out words together, point out the colors on the page, or explain the objects included in the illustrations. And having them help flip the pages gives them a chance to work on their hand-eye coordination and further develop their fine motor skills.
Embrace all kinds of stories
In our home, we have shelves stacked with boatfuls of books, so there's certainly no shortage of reading material.
There's also no shortage when it comes to their own personal bookshelves, and we rotate publications between the shelves upstairs and downstairs to keep things interesting.
Heck, our twins even like to flip through recipe books when we're hanging out in the kitchen.
No matter which books you read with your children, exploring stories with your little ones is a wonderful way to make memories together, one word at a time.
This time together can enhance your bond, create lasting memories, and encourage your little ones' minds to flourish.
Reading is already a huge part of our daily routine, and it's incredibly interesting watching the love of reading develop and evolve with both of our twins.
They'll be playing with something and then decide they'd rather be reading a book, so they'll find the one they want and bring it over to read.
When we get to the last page, the common response is, "More!" or "Again!"
So, we flip to the start and read the story again. Sometimes, that same story gets read five or 10 times in one sitting. Sometimes, a story's so good that their favorite stuffies have to get in on the re-read.
This might get redundant for the one doing the reading, but for the one doing the listening, reading the same book over and over again helps them learn through repetition.
Hearing the book repeated several times helps them to fully understand several things, from the meaning of the story, to the message the illustrations convey, to the sound, rhythm, and, even, tone of the words as the story is read aloud.
As parents, we want to give our children every advantage in everything they do, and if that means reading the same story on repeat for a while, then we're ready to announce, "Once upon a time" time and time again.
How do you promote reading in your household? Do your kids have favorite stories they like to read over and over again? Let us know in the Comments section below or connect with us on Instagram to share your thoughts!
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