How to Use Any Book for Speech & Language Development

And the Benefits of Reading

May 13, 2024

It is so important to foster a child’s interest in reading. When it comes to your child’s language development, one of the best things you can do is keep reading to them! 

“By reading to your child starting at a young age, even before they’re able to communicate verbally, you help lay the neurological groundwork for effective language use and literacy” -Learning and Development Center at the Child Mind Institute.

Reading is a great bonding experience between an adult and child, and has an impact on social emotional development. Reading guides you to explore new perspectives together, feel new emotions, and focus on each other. Children who read stories about lives that are different from their own can gain empathy for others, and the emotional awareness to express big feelings in a healthy way. 

Now let’s say your social environment is mainly in another language. Should you read in the child’s academic language? You may read in any language or mixture of languages that you’d like. There are more bilingual books being published today than ever before! Take advantage and select books in all languages that your child is being exposed to. Libraries are the best places to explore new books at many different levels of difficulty. It’s helpful to read above your child’s ability level to encourage learning new words. Remember that libraries are free and often have read-along programs and events to help you find a book-loving community!

No child is too young to be read to- but “reading” looks different depending on the child’s age. What if my child is a newborn, not looking at the book, playing with another toy, nonspeaking, only Spanish speaking or anything in between… READ anyways! A child still learns pre-literacy skills by hearing you read, holding a book, flipping pages, seeing words, and even singing songs. The most important thing is that your child is exposed to diverse vocabulary at all ages and levels, especially when they are babies. Attention to reading doesn’t need to come with forced eye contact or structured seating. It is okay to simply interact with books with your child whether they “look” like they are paying attention or not. Of course, we have some tips to help keep their attention and create an interactive experience:

Choose books that your child is interested in

This is a great way to facilitate a love of reading!

Find books with lots of repetition. Pause for anticipation 

“I see a red bird looking at…ME!”, "But he was still...hungry". You can find a helpful list of repetitive books here

Use lots of sounds and intonation

Uhoh, ayaye, yipee, yumm, boo, woof

Add movement to the story

Think of nursery rhymes like Itsy Bitsy Spider and I’m a Little Teapot. You can add gestures and move the book with each bump and hop to make the book even more interactive. 

Ask a few questions 

Just enough to keep them interested, but not too many that it feels like a quiz. What will happen? Where did he go? Why are they sad? 

Make comments and connect to the story 

"Remember when we went to the beach too- we swam and built sand castles." "She’s sad because she got a booboo, just like you have on your knee. How did you get your booboo?"

You don’t have to read every word

You can shorten paragraphs, change the words, skip to their favorite parts, personalize the names, and even tell the story by talking through the photos.

Read it again and again… and again. 

You don’t need a large variety of books. In fact, studies show that re-reading the same book improves critical thinking, problem solving, and improves vocabulary better than reading different books by familiarizing them with a greater number of words! 

Have fun with it by following your child’s lead. 

Let them skip through pages or spend time looking at pictures while you talk about it. If you miss a word or page that is okay! Literacy skills will still be developed.

Remember to keep the experience fun! If these tips feel overwhelming, we suggest focusing on one or two new skills for you to practice with your child until you are comfortable. These tips will help you cultivate your child’s love of reading, and make each book the best story yet! 

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us and schedule a free consultation.