Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler

It is never too early to introduce books to a child. RIF understands this and the importance of nurturing the emergent literacy of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

RIF Launches New Website for Young Children A free resource to help parents and childcare providers develop the language skills of their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Go...

Your Baby and Toddler

Here are a few things that you can do to help build your child's literacy skills:

*Read aloud to your baby for only a few minutes at a time. Read a little longer as your older baby is willing to listen.
*Point to things in picture books and name them. As your children learn to talk, ask them to "point and say."
*Set aside at least one regularly scheduled time each day for reading. Make it a part of your toddler's routine. Also take toddlers to the library or bookstore for story hour.
*Recite nursery rhymes and sing songs. Rhymes help develop a young child's ear for language.

Try introducing the following types of books to your child:

*Cloth, vinyl, and board books that are durable for babies
*Books with familiar objects to name
*Simple stories about a toddler's everyday experiences
*A collection of Mother Goose or other nursery rhymes

Your Preschooler

Here are a few things that you can do to help build your child's literacy skills:

*Encourage your children to join in while you read. Pause to let them fill in a rhyming word or repeating line: “I’ll huff and I’ll puff . . .”
*Ask open-ended questions, such as “What do you think is going to happen next?” or “Why do you think he did that?”
*Move your finger under the words as you read aloud. This helps preschoolers connect printed words to spoken words.
*Begin teaching the letters of the alphabet, starting with those in your child’s name. Make letter-learning fun with markers, magnets, glue, and glitter.

Try introducing the following types of books to your child:

*Concept books, such as counting and A-B-C books
*“Pattern books” with rhymes and repetition
*Simple stories with predictable plots