Reading With Your Toddler? Books May Beat Screens

Parents who want to read to their toddlers and give them a developmental boost ought to pick up a traditional paper book rather than an e-book on a tablet, a new study reported.

Toddlers are more likely to interact with their parents when they’re sharing a paper children’s book rather than a tablet, University of Michigan researchers found.

Parents also tended to talk more to their children when reading from a paper book.

Further, unruly children prone to emotional outbursts responded better to their parents when reading from print versus digital.

The point of reading to your child isn’t just what’s on the page, but the experience you’re having with them, child development experts explained.

Your children will learn reading skills in school, but often they come to associate reading with work, not fun.

The best thing parents can do to encourage children to love books and reading is to read aloud to them. And don’t stop reading aloud to them once they have learned to read for themselves.

Read to your child every day-even if only for a few minutes. It is your time together.

Reading should be fun. You don’t have to finish a story if your child loses interest.

Let your child choose the book even if it means reading the same book over and over.

Invite your child to “read” to you from a familiar book that he has memorized from having heard it so often read to him.

Stop and ask about the illustrations or what your child thinks will happen next. The answers may amaze you.

Read from a variety of children’s books, including fairy tales, poetry, and nursery rhymes.

Follow your child’s interests in choosing the books. There are many great books on non-fiction subjects such as the ocean or dogs.

Join your local library.