Growing up readers

What to read
In their first years, babies grow, learn and change very quickly: this is why every milestone can be followed by special books that speak to the child every step of their growth.

The Nati per Leggere and Nati per Leggere Piemonte website summarize criteria and selection advice, base on the child’s age, the skills acquired and the type of books suitable to them.

Nati per leggere Piemonte

Nati per leggere - National project

Especially at the beginning of your career as reader for your children the first selection criteria is your taste: it is hard to read something you don’t like passionately, and the lack of reader’s enthusiasm for a text they are not passionate about, is clear to those who listen.

Having fun with what you read is the only secret to pass on your love for books and reading: nursery rhymes, rhymes and songs are a huge help, thanks to their rhythm and irony, and because they often help you enjoy the text with your voice and your body.

Indeed, especially at the beginning, around 6 months, the goal is not so much to read to your child, but rather to use the book with them.

As your child grows, their food... and book diet change!

Try to offer a variety of books: different types and genres, picture books and short stories without pictures, and books made of various materials and sizes.

In the meantime, your child will refine their own taste, but they will also fill up with a little bit of everything!

How to read?
You don’t need to be an actor to make books attractive and fascinating for your children:   reading is a dialogue between them and us, through the words of a story

Just remember punctuation rules (short stop after a comma, longer stop after a period)... and follow the story and the curiosity it arouses with the rhythm of your voice.

Even changing the volume can be an easy way to create a crescendo of expectations, reaching an emotional highpoint or generating suspense and stimulating attention.

Don’t be afraid that you are not a good reader: to be successful with your children, you just need to read with your heart devoted to them and the mind free from any other thoughts.

Adults often overlook a moment children truly enjoy: a total or partial re-reading of the text, in order to better enjoy the story and the images. Going over the book once again offers you a chance to comment and dialogue with your child.

When to read?

It is hard to point out the perfect time to read; the only rule is making reading a special and pleasant moment, during which parents and children have time and the desire to “share each other”, and the desire and pleasure to do something together and get lost in the fantastic world of stories.

A “comfortable” moment for everyone, with fewer distractions and interruptions, is the bedtime routine, that is, the moment during which we close the day together, surrender to cuddles and mum and dad’s words embrace their little ones, taking them to the world of dreams.

If the question “when to read” becomes “when to start reading?”, the answer is straight away. From when the child is still in the womb: during pregnancy, the parents’ voice begins to be an acoustic cuddle that reassures and soothes the child!

If the question is “for how long”, meaning “when should I stop reading to my child?”, there is no answer to that! Reading is a pleasure, not a duty! And, above all, reading between parents and children is a time for sharing: Don’t give up this experience when your child learns how to read.

Your child’s request to hear you read shouldn’t be mistaken with laziness; true, they have acquired their reading skills. However, with this request, your child is asking you to share a pleasant moment together. They are asking you not to break your bond in a delicate phase of their relationship with books.

Indeed, at the beginning of our schooling, books are transformed, they take on a new role. They are not just a source of pleasure and fun, they also become the guise of duty. We must read to learn and be good in school.

Breaking off the practice of reading aloud for your children at this time means depriving books of their positive affectionate guise, and dumping reading among your child’s obligations.

How much to read?
We do a lot of actions every day because we have to. Why neglect what is a pleasure?

We should foster the relationship of dialogue and devotion to our children every day, even through a book!

Often times, books are a valid support to tackle - in a metaphorical and light way - topics that would be hard to rationalize: fears (dark, wolves, school...), emotions (rage, jealousy, whining...), growth milestones (giving up the pacifier and the diapers...)

If reading aloud becomes a daily habit, with an important emotional value, given the opportunity to share something with their parents, it is more likely that children become good readers even when they are adults.