Health Tip: Read to Your Toddler

(HealthDay News) -- Reading is a fun activity for you and your toddler, and it helps your child build important language skills.

Here are suggestions for reading to your toddler, courtesy of the Nemours Foundation:

• Read at a scheduled time each day, such as before bedtime.
• If your child asks you to read a certain book, read it -- even if it''s the same one you read every night.
• Read slowly, so it''s easy to listen and understand.
• Use lots of expression in your voice when you read.
• Encourage interaction while you read, including clapping, singing, and using puppets to act out what you''re reading.
• Substitute your child''s name for the name of one of the book''s characters.
• Look at the pictures, ask your child to name certain objects, and ask lots of questions.

-- Diana Kohnle

Last Updated: Aug. 12, 2008

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