Reading...

I've often wondered why parents don't read to their kids. It's easy to do, it's a relaxing activity, and it allows parent and child to bond over a common interest. But yet, I still have parents tell me that they don't read to their kids because either a) they don't have time or b) their kids aren't interested.

A love of reading starts early. Infants are naturally drawn to the sound of their parents voices, especially their mothers. Reading to infants, even though they don't understand the story line, is a wonderful activity. If you start reading to your child as an infant, the child will learn that reading is a fun, relaxing activity. This lays the groundwork for a life of loving books. When I was a nanny, I read to the kids I was charged with all the time. The oldest, when I got her at 11 months, had never had a book read to her. I started reading with her everyday, many times a day in fact. At first she had no interest in books, but by keeping at it every day she eventually would come to me with a book and want me to read it to her. She's almost 6 years old now and absolutely loves books. With her brother I started reading to him as soon as I started taking care of him. He was 2 weeks old when I got him and I would sit and read the newspaper outloud to him. He had no clue what I was saying but I continued to do it and eventually progressed to books and now he loves to be read to.

So please, read to your kids. It gives you quality time with them, allows them to learn the magic of words, learn intonation when speaking, and it's just fun overall.