From as early as their birth to the age of three, children learn an enormous amount of language – even if they do not talk much.
The more stories you tell, and more books you read to them, the more they learn and develop their language skills.
Engaging with babies and toddlers through the use of books is about enjoying your time together and following their lead in deciding what to try.
Gogo, Nal’ibali’s reading granny, gives a few tips to consider:
- Start by asking, “Shall we look at/read this book?” Babies and toddlers enjoy playfulness, rhyme, rhythm and repetition. Enjoy your time together, talking and reading your children’s favourite books again and again.
- Sit comfortably with your child on your lap, or next to you, when you share books.
- You don’t have to finish the book. Explore a book together for as short or as long a period as you both want.
- Talk about the pictures, ideas and what is happening in the book. Ask them what they think and say what you think, too.
Nal’ibali (Xhosa for “here is the story”) is a national reading-for-enjoyment campaign that sets out to raise awareness and also address South Africa’s literacy problems by helping adults and children fall in love with reading and sharing stories in their mother tongues.
