How old should the child be before you start reading to him/her?

Answer 1

Babies only develop the ability to hear during the second half of the pregnancy, so it's not worth it the first few months. Beyond that, the earlier, the better.

Answer 2

Read to him / her from day one. Even if it's the sports section or a boring article about stocks and bonds.

Start board books at 4 to 6 months old. A baby can't really hurt those too much. No pages to rip and the heavy pages will withstand quite a bit of slober. Check your local dollar stores -- board books are usually plentiful there. Read them silly stories, rhymes, even the classics ..... involve the child in the book, don't just read it ..... point out colors, count the frogs, point out different shapes .....

Read, read and read ..... there are so many benefits. Have books available and let the children see you read ..... lead by example.

Answer 3

It may seem stupid but we read while my wife was still pregnant. We were told babies can hear while still in the womb. We continued to read from birth. We still read as a family.

Our first child was reading by age five. Our second child was reading by age three and a half. The third is just beginning to get it at age four. It worked for us.

Answer 4

There is no "wrong" time to start reading to your child, but as early as possible is the best! My parents read to me as long as I can remember - later, when my brother (2 years older) went to school, he would read to me and I ended up learning to read very early. I still love it :)

Plus, if you establish a routine of reading at a specific time of day, the child will begin to look forward to it and it will be a nice bonding time for the two of you.

Answer 5

Start reading from day one.They may not understand it all the way but it will help you bond with them and studies have shown that reading to your infants and toddlers helps them progress mentally and educationally faster, I would work on the alphabet about 2 or 3 years of age, before kinder-garden, you want your kid to be smart and stand out.

Answer 6

i don't believe that there is any set age as to when you should start reading to a child.....my sister has been reading to my nephew even while in the womb. He is only a month old but he has a story read to him every night.

Answer 7

I started reading to both my children the moment I brought them home, my 6 year old is reading at a 5th grade level and my 3 year old knows her vowels and is sounding out words.

Answer 8

Read immediately. They may not understand but the sound of your voice is comforting and it is good for them to begin to hear the “rhythmic” patterns of sentences and speech. They don’t care what you read. Even the daily sports page works. When they get older then you can start picking things with pretty pictures and appropriately aged stories.

Answer 9

I read to both of my children from birth. Even if they were sound asleep in my arms or their swing, I'd still sit and read aloud. When they were sleeping, I wouldn't read their books...I'd read whatever it was I was reading at the time (usually Stephen King, lmao) but hey...they got read to! A word of advice...buy board books at first. If you buy regular books with paper pages, when your baby is old enough and can reach for things, she'll just tear the pages up (unintentionally, of course!)

Answer 10

I think it is ok to read to them as soon as they are old enough to stay awake for any amount of time. My son is 8 months old and I have been reading to him for 4 months now. He has this book that has bright colored fish in it. He just loves it. Every time my husband or I read it to him he lunges for the fish. And also the sooner you read to them the more they will enjoy when they get older.