Teach Your Baby to Read in His Sleep* (*sort of)

A recent study published by literacy expert Dr. Susan B. Neuman in the Journal of Educational Psychology, has asserted (yet again) that babies do not actually learn to read by watching videos, staring at flashcards, or chewing on any other part of a bundle marketed as educational media for babies.

Whew.  Glad we’ve established that.

Again.

But here’s a little secret the study doesn’t tell you.  You can teach your baby to read in his sleep.

Well, sort of.

I’m not talking about subliminal information woven into your baby’s favorite bedtime playlist, but it is true that many of the ordinary activities that make up our regular bedtime routines actually contribute to real literacy in extraordinary ways!  (And the value holds for children well beyond their baby days!)

Bedtime Stories

Whether it’s snuggling around a picture book or sharing a read-aloud chapter book with older kids, the number one activity you can do to promote literacy in your child is to simply enjoy reading with them.  Sounds simple, but it’s powerful.

Through a joyful, shared activity, kids build their vocabularies, hear subtle phonological sounds, build comprehension, and pick up on story structure and concepts of print.  But you don’t have to think about all of that.  Just enjoy a good story with your child, and the benefits come automatically!

Lullabies

The word “lullaby” seems too serene for the array of sometimes soft, but sometimes silly songs I may sing to my toddler on any given night.  But whatever brand of music you choose to employ, singing songs with your child actually goes a long way to build powerful preliteracy skills.

There are obvious boosts anytime you share more language experiences with your child, but songs carry the unique benefit of rolling rhyme and rhythm together in a fun way that naturally enhances a child’s phonological awareness, one of the top predictors of future literacy success .  (It’s a big word, but a simple concept.  Read more about phonological awareness and why it matters in this post from the NJC archives.)

Nightly Talks

We try to talk with our boys each night at bedtime.  It’s a great way to connect, and that’s our primary motivation, but it’s also a great exercise in decontextualized speech.  (Another big word.) When kids can talk through their days, talking about things that are not readily in the “here and now”, they build comprehension skills and the type of thinking required to follow a story in their minds.

Books in Bed

After the bedtime story is over, go ahead and give your child a book or two to take to bed.  Study after study shows that kids’ literacy skills are strongly tied to their access to books.  So give them books! 

We placed book rails next to our kids’ beds to give them room for a few favorites (or a lot, as it usually turns out).  During that space between tucking in and drifting off, they turn page after page — the readers and the prereaders alike.  Whether they’re actually reading the words or “reading” the pictures, they’re building vital skills right at their own level.  Because they want to.

I remember listening down the hall as our oldest, at a very young age, would repeat phrases from his favorite book over and over, “reading” the pages to himself and recalling the familiar patterns.  It was cute and endearing, of course, but it was also building a foundation for real literacy.

Even our toddler goes to bed with a few board books.  One of my favorite sights is finding him sitting up turning pages when I come in to check on him after his nap.  Often, what has seemed like an extra-long nap turns out to actually be a nap with a bonus reading session tagged on!

Babble

Ever hear your toddlers babbling in their beds as they drift off, or shortly after waking?  That babbling is a serious workout for your child’s language (and thereby literacy) development.  In those moments of solitude, infants and toddlers practice and play with the sounds and words they’ve discovered.  So don’t rush in when they’re contentedly playing and chatting away.  Children do benefit from language interactions with adults, but they need these quiet, independent language experiences as well.  (Learn more about the significance of babbling from an SLP at Playing with Words 365.)

Babbling.  Books.  Songs.  Talks.  That’s real literacy development for real readers.  Give them real language and literacy experiences because they want them.  Because they’re meaningful and enjoyable.  You’ll end up with a reader when they’re really ready.

And you don’t need an infant reading program to pull that off!

More Resources on Building Real Readers:

Teaching Your Child to Talk…There’s No App for That!  {NJC}

“Your Baby Can Read” Costs Too Much {Janet Lansbury}

 “What About…” Looking for Exceptions to DAP {NJC}

6 Board Books for Toddlers that Build Critical Literacy Skills for the Future  {NJC}

Finding the Sweet Spot for Early Literacy {NJC}