1. Choose Books with Realistic Illustrations or Photographs
A recent study at the University of Queensland in Australia showed that toddlers showed significantly better recognition of objects and ideas if they learned about them in a book that was illustrated with photographs, rather than drawings. Of course, this makes sense: a child will not easily learn what a dog looks like from seeing them in a book that shows blue, two-legged dogs in cars and dresses.
Unrealistic books are better than no books at all, and they may be enjoyable for both you and your little one. But try mixing a few books with photographs into your collection. Baby and toddler books published by Dorling Kindersley are one good option for expanding your child's vocabulary, because they use simple words with bright and exciting photographic illustrations.
2. Remind Your Child About Storytime Throughout the Day
Your toddler or baby may learn to compare fictional stories to real-life scenarios if you remind her of a favorite book during a day-to-day activity. For example, you can try chugging "I think I can, I think I can," as you walk up a hill with your baby, or you can name your toddler's favorite stuffed animal after a storybook character.
My infant daughter's face lit up one day when we were playing with wooden toy blocks one day. I paid homage to Dr. Seuss' Fox in Socks by telling her, "First I'll make a quick trick brick stack, then I'll make a quick trick block stack" She instantly remembered the line from the book, and began recognizing the significance of the word "block" from that day forward.
3. Read Anywhere and Everywhere
Books, like diapers and wipes, are something that every child should have with them at all times. Bringing a book with you to the Doctor's office, grocery store, or restaurant can be helpful to both you and your child. Instead of your toddler having a tantrum because he is bored, he may simply sit down at a restaurant table and begin babbling over the illustrations.
Likewise, babies and toddlers can enjoy the wonderful world of reading while riding in a shopping cart at a grocery store or waiting for the pediatrician to see them. You can even bring books with you on a long car trip if someone else is driving. Sitting in the back with your baby and reading to her will entertain and educate her at the same time--and it will save you the headache of needing to stop every few minutes to console her if she becomes bored.
4. Encourage Your Child to Recognize Books Individually
To a child, especially a baby, everything in the world is given a monolithic categorization. Young children may not understand that each book has specific text, and that the text is the same every time you read it. If a baby or toddler becomes bored with books in general, it may be because he doesn't understand that all books are different, and that each one has something new to teach him.
To encourage your child's recognition of plots, illustrations, and cover designs, talk about the books before you open them. Try saying something like, "Do you want to read Where the Wild Things Are? It's about Max. He has a wolf suit and goes to the place where the wild things are!" you can then compare and contrast it with another book. "Happy Baby ABC doesn't have Max in it. It has pictures of kitties and leaves, and there's no story." Show your child two books side-by-side. The epiphany may come as soon as you demonstrate it.
5. You Can Never Have Too Many
A full shelf of books might be one of the best gifts you can ever give your child. When he has a large variety of stories, sounds, letters, illustrations, and photographs to spark his imagination, he learns to love reading and learns to appreciate what it can do for him. There is nothing wrong with having dozens, or even hundreds, of book, even if you do not read all of them as a matter of routine.
As your baby or toddler becomes old enough to choose and sit down with books alone, a breadth of children's literature can open new interests for him. A twenty-cent book about clownfish from the thrift store may not mean much to either of you right now, but it may spark an exciting world of wonder for your child in a year or two.
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