Reading to Your Baby and Toddler: How to Start From Birth

Why read so early

• The AAP recommends reading aloud with children every day from birth. Many pediatric offices hand out free books at checkups through programs such as Reach Out and Read.
• A baby doesn't need to follow a story. Your voice, the closeness and the back-and-forth around a book build language, attention and a bond with books long before they understand words.
• A few minutes a day, as part of a routine (often bedtime), matters more than long sessions.

What it looks like at each age

• Newborn to 3 months: read anything aloud, even your own book, in a sing-song voice. Babies see best about 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) away; black-and-white and high-contrast pictures hold their gaze. A minute or two is plenty.
• 4 to 6 months: cloth, vinyl and board books they can grab. Name what you see and pause for coos. Rhymes and songs count as reading.
• 6 to 12 months: board books with bright, simple photos. Chewing, banging and flipping pages is how babies explore books, and it's fine. Lift-the-flap and touch-and-feel books are a hit. Point and name: "Dog! The dog says woof."
• 12 to 24 months: toddlers start pointing, bringing books to you, and filling in a sound or word. Ask "Where's the ball?" and wait. Let them turn the pages and skip around; you don't have to finish the book.
• 2 to 3 years: short stories with a simple plot, books about daily life (potty, bedtime, a new baby), and rhyming books they can help finish. This is a great age for interactive reading.

Interactive (dialogic) reading, from about age 2

Instead of reading straight through, make it a conversation. One simple pattern: 1. Prompt your child to say something about the page ("What's that?"). 2. Respond to what they say, warmly. 3. Add a little more ("Yes, a truck. A big red fire truck."). 4. Invite them to say it again with the new words.

Ways to prompt: leave the last word of a rhyme for them to fill in; ask what happened earlier in the story; ask open questions about a picture ("Tell me about this page"); ask who, what and where questions; and link the book to their life ("We saw a duck at the park!").

Tips that work

• Reread favorites. Asking for the same book 40 times is how toddlers learn words and predict what comes next. It's a good sign.
• Keep it short and fun. Stop when they wander off, and try again later. Wiggling, standing or playing while you read still counts.
• Use the library. Free books, plus baby and toddler story times that build routine and let them see other children enjoying books.
• Bilingual families: read and talk in the language you're most fluent and comfortable in. Rich home-language reading supports learning the second language too. See the talking to your baby guide.
• Do voices and point to the words now and then; older toddlers start noticing that print means something.

Books versus screens

• Printed books lead to more talk between parent and child than e-books with sounds and animations, which can pull attention away from the conversation.
• Under about 18 months, the AAP advises avoiding screens other than video calls. Reading apps and read-aloud videos don't replace a person reading with your child. See the screen time guide.

Bring it up at the checkup if

• Your child shows no interest in looking at pictures or at you by around 12 months.
• By 18 months they don't point to show you things, or by 2 years they don't point to pictures you name, or say at least two words together.
• They lose words or skills they had. Children under 3 can get a free evaluation through Early Intervention; you don't need a referral.