Tips For Celebrating World Book Day With Your Little Ones

World Book Day is fast approaching on the 7 March. It’s the annual celebration of reading for pleasure, with a focus on helping children to discover the delights of a good book. The day is supported by the National Literacy Trust (NLT), who have a range of resources to help parents, teachers and caregivers get kids involved in fun and educational activities.

According to the NLT, reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success. It’s particularly important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, because research shows that kids who actively enjoy reading and read outside of school have improved prospects in life.

Research shows that the benefits of reading are not just reflected in higher test scores; children who read for pleasure also have better mental wellbeing and empathy skills than children who read little or not at all outside of the academic curriculum. 

So, how can parents and caregivers encourage children to love reading? The NLT has identified six key principles that support children in enjoying reading. These include being read to regularly in early childhood; having access to books at home and at school; having a choice in what books to read; having time to read, and finding reading fun.

The process of engaging children with reading can start when they are babies. Children are naturally receptive to language and from their first weeks they will respond to the sound and rhythm of your voice. Take every opportunity to recite simple nursery rhymes and songs to them, and clap your hands to emphasise the rhythm.

This is a fun activity that will help you bond with your baby, and also help them to develop phonemic awareness skills when they are a little older. By three months old, you may notice that your baby tries to imitate the sounds you make when you speak, and will look directly at you and make a variety of facial expressions. 

By six months old, your baby may have developed a variety of different sounds to communicate with you and express their needs, such as hunger, happiness, tiredness, excitement, and so on. According to the NHS, 90% of your child’s brain growth happens before the age of five, so every interaction you have with your tot matters.

By the age of six months, a baby will be able to engage with picture books and grasp the concept that the pictures represent objects. Encourage them by reading aloud and describing any pictures that they point to while you are looking through the book. By the age of 12 months, your baby should be able to repeat sounds that you make.

Make some time to read to your baby every day, such as before bed time but also at times when they are more awake and alert.  Don’t feel obliged to stick to the script if your baby shows a particular interest in a certain picture, but ask them questions and make up your own responses. This will encourage them to explore the book with more curiosity. 

Babies and young children love repetition so don’t worry if they are drawn back to the same stories or songs time and again. Make it more interesting for yourself by using different tones and expressions for each character or section of the story. Always show that reading is a positive experience rather than a chore, and use it to build a sense of closeness and trust.

A baby who has been read to regularly in its first year of life will already have the foundations for developing good speech and language skills during the next few crucial years. The more you can talk and read to them, the wider their vocabulary is likely to be. 

Babies are also exploring other senses at this time, so try to show them some tactile book with contrasting rough and smooth textures, shapes and colours, tabs, flaps, and so on. 

As they get older, toddlers will be able to understand the meaning of words and pictures more fully, so make sure they have access to a variety of books that will help them learn about new concepts and environments, such as space, the sea, or foreign countries.

By the age of four, your child should be able to grasp a simple story and may even be able to read short books by themselves. Continue to encourage them by always having a supply of interesting books to hand and making sure that your child has a quiet and comfortable place to read.