Hard to believe that the school year has started. And with that, it’s back to the books!
Our expert this week is Debbie Neuschatz, a nursery school director and teacher of nearly 50 years. She has great advice on how to foster a love of learning in your kids from the moment they’re born. That’s right– she says it’s never too young to start reading to your child.
ASK AN EXPERT: Reading to your children early on
Debbie Neuschatz is currently the director of Shorashim Preschool in Old Westbury. She’s worked with kids from infancy to grade 12 and has a Master’s in early childhood and special education.
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[This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]
Let’s start with when babies are firstborn. I’ve always heard: Just read to them whenever you can– and read anything! Is this good advice?
It’s excellent advice for a lot of reasons. It helps you bond with your child. So if you have that connection where you’re sitting with them, they hear your voice, they hear the inflection in your voice when you’re talking. It has been proven to speed up language development. I have a friend who’s a pediatrician and he says he sees a huge difference in children’s attention span if parents read to the children right from the time they’re born.
Does it matter how long you spend reading? New parents are exhausted, sleep deprived, and all that.
Even if you read for two minutes, 20 seconds, whatever it is, they’re hearing your voice and sitting with you right from birth. I know it seems silly. It does help their brains grow. It’s all scientifically proven. And in my opinion, it’s a good way to encourage a lifelong love of reading. If your child sees you with a book right from the time they’re old enough to know what you’re doing, they know it’s important.
It also helps with language development and understanding the pattern of speaking. If there’s a question mark in the story and you’re raising your voice differently, it helps language development.
What about the routine part of it?
It definitely helps establish a routine for the child and get into a schedule right from the time they’re born. If part of that schedule is sitting on a rocker or chair and pulling out a book and reading to them, that’s part of the routine. They know that’s something that’s happening right before bed. Or they have those plastic books you can read while they’re in the tub, or just a random time instead of turning on the tv, pull out a book.
Does it matter WHAT you’re reading? Is there anything you would recommend?
For infants, it’s great to have books they can grab onto like cloth books or board books, or any books that have touch-and-feel stuff. Anything with different textures they could feel. Also, books with sound. A book that you can sing as you can read. It helps them hear the melody and tone of your voice. Definitely for infants, books that they can grab and put in their mouth and that they’re not going to tear.
Why is that?
Because you’re not pulling the book away from them and telling them they can’t touch it. You want them to be able to touch books and feel like books are part of their everyday activities. So on their bookshelf and toy area, put all their board books. This way they can pull out a book and start turning the pages by themselves, and understand that’s what a book is for. And typically those books have few words and lots of colorful pictures which is much more interesting for them.
I also recommend black and white books. They are easier for the children to see and look at and understand the shapes on the books. (I’m talking about very young infants, 2-3 months old.)
[Editor’s Note: A big thank you to Debbie Neuschatz for talking to us this week. In our next edition, she’ll be doling out advice for reading to toddlers– including more of her favorite books.]
