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Toys for Skill Development - Learning to Read

From a very early age you will be fighting to retain control of your newspaper or sharing books with your baby!

Developing Baby's Reading Skills – Picture Books

Something you can start really early on is showing your baby picture books - something like the Amazing Baby range that combines photos of babies with everyday objects.

Picture books that show pictures of farm animals or zoo animals are great to attract baby's attention. Other picture books theme each page spread to show baby something about family life.

The more you sit and share your time with baby using books, the more baby will absorb.

Developing Baby's Reading Skills – Introducing Words

As baby gets a little older you can start looking at using phonic cards and simple books that still use many pictures but start using words.

Eric Carle books and Richard Scarry books provide a lot of fun for baby and you, with beautiful illustrations and meaningful stories. Other books to look at are the Disney range where baby may recognise some of the characters or books that deal with yes and no or right and wrong. Another series of books that provides a lot of fun is the “That's not my…” range.

Simple nursery rhyme books that deal with favourites like “Humpty Dumpty” and “Little Miss Muffet” are fun too.

The more you share with baby the faster they will start to read books themselves.

Reading Skills - Toys

Baby toys that encourage matching pictures with sounds, letters and words are a good start too. The Leapfrog “LittleTouch LeapPad” encourages this.

Don't compare your baby's reading ability with anyone else's baby – they all develop at their own pace.

Developing Reading Skills – Hints and Tips

There is no best way to read to your baby – what's important is that you are able to spend some time each day reading with your baby and having fun. Remember too that while it is logical for adults to start a book at the beginning and read it through, babies are more interested in looking at the pictures and they will want to turn page after page so don't try and stop them. Read at your baby's pace and let them shout ‘star' at you a hundred times if it keeps them interested.

Don't worry about your own reading skills – if you make mistakes that's fine. Your baby just wants to be with you and share the experience. Think though about the way you read a story and have some excitement in your voice and do laugh. Baby will laugh with you.

When you sing nursery rhymes add in some movements as well. For example if you sing ”Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” raise your hand above baby's head and shake your fingers like a twinkling star.

This allows baby to communicate with you before he talks – when you sing familiar songs, he will imitate your gestures.

And be prepared to read the same book over and over. Baby will latch on to a familiar book but be amazed as each time you read the book, he will remember more and more. This is a great way of helping baby develop his long term memory.

Suggested Books to help develop baby's reading progress

The following are suggested books to have fun with – all have been road tested by babies and their mummies and are available from Amazon:

• “I Love You” – Amazing Baby
• “Peepo Puppy” – Amazing Baby
• “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?” – Eric Carle
• “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” – Dr Seuss
• “The Baby's Catalogue” – Janet Ahlberg
• “We're Going on a Bear Hunt” – Michael Rosen
• “Baby Boo” – Amazing Baby
• “Dear Zoo” lift the flaps book - Rod Campbell
• “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” - Eric Carle
• “Wibbly Pig” - Mick Inkpen
• “Smiley Shark” – Ruth Galloway
• “The Very Clever Crocodile” – Jack Tickle.

To find out more about what to look out for when choosing and buying nursery toys visit our How to Choose and Buy a Baby Toy for Different Ages section and our How to Choose and Buy a Baby Toy for Helping to Develop Different Skills section.

To find out more about the different types of nursery toy that are available for each age group visit our Types of Nursery Toy section.

To find out more about the different online baby and nursery toy shops and stores visit our Top Sites section.

To find out more about the top brands of baby toys visit our Top Brands section

You can also find out more in our How to Play with Baby section.