Talk, Sing, Play and Read with Your Child Every Day
- Talk and sing with your child, as this is a first step in language development.
- Singing and listening to music is good for your child’s development.
- Provide a safe place for your baby or toddler to roll, crawl and explore. If possible, “child-proof” the entire home.
- Sit and play on the floor with your child daily, knowing that children learn through play with simple toys and household items such as pots, pans, bowls and wooden spoons.
- Daily supervised outdoor play, including running, climbing, swinging and sliding helps children develop strong bodies and minds.
- When you and your child play “pretend” together, she is learning to use her imagination and understand her world.
- Spend time each day reading to your young child, watching for her cues to continue or quit.
- Look at books, talk about the pictures and the story; this will teach language and new words.
- Try different voices for the characters in a book and encourage your child to act out the story.
- Play rhyming games, recite nursery rhymes and do fingerplays to help your child notice the sounds of words.
- Help your child notice words and other print in the world around you.
- Sharing a favorite book with a caring adult can provide comfort to a child, as well as a love of books and reading.
- Limit TV watching and when you allow your child to watch, sit with him and talk about what you see, remembering that young children should not watch the news or adult programs.
- Get a free library card so that you can visit the library often and check out a variety of books.
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