Books open up a big world full of wonderful possibilities. They can widen your imagination, improve vocabulary and stimulate creativity. When you introduce your newborn to books, it helps them develop much faster. If you are planning to introduce books to your baby, here is the list of the top 6 types of books for newborn to 1 year old babies.
Books are the perfect teaching aid when it comes to babies and young children. There are many types of books catering to various needs and interests. Your choice of the book will not only depend on the subject but also on your child’s age. Giving them books meant for their age is more important than when they start reading or how well they read.
In This Article
- When Should I Introduce Books To My Newborn?
- How To Introduce Books To An Infant?
- Top 6 Types Of Books For Newborn To 1-Year-Old
- FAQ’s
When Should I Introduce Books To My Newborn?
Okay, so we know reading to your baby or introducing books to them from an early age can be very beneficial as they grow up. The question is, when? When can you start introducing books to your baby?
You can start reading to your baby right from the time they are in the womb. After birth, you can start reading after getting back home and settling down into a routine. Your newborn is still too young to look at pictures or try handling the book. When you repeatedly expose them to the books, they will pick up words, phrases, and expressions very easily.
If you want to break it down age-wise to choose more appropriate books, here is a quick guide you can refer to:
0-3 Months
Your baby can’t see very far, so they may not be able to make out images or understand colors yet. At this stage choose books with little text in big sizes and more images. Choose books that give you an opportunity to read out with a lot of expressions, changes in voice or tone or even sing. At this age, babies enjoy the way you read to them rather than the book itself.
4-6 Months
Your baby can see better, understand colors and grab objects. Invest in hard-bound or non-paper books which will not spoil if your baby mouths or chews on them. You can buy books with colorful images, sounds, music and any form of interaction.
6-12 Months
Your baby can start understanding and remembering if you repeat the same books. This is the right age for all those learning books – musical or singing books as well as textured books. Books that use phonetics or have rhyming words can be a great way to teach your baby sounds at this age.
How To Introduce Books To An Infant?
Now, the biggest question many parents have is how to introduce books to their newborn or an infant who is not even a year old. They are not going to understand anything, then why spend time on it?
Well, no, while your baby may not “seem” to understand what you are reading to them, they are definitely gaining from this time investment of yours. You will see the impact as they grow up and will be happy you spent your time so judiciously on your baby’s development.
So, how can you start? Here are a few tips for those parents who are still not convinced or don’t know where to start:
1. Start With Bedtime Stories
Start reading bedtime stories. It need not always end with a “good night” but it can be a small book with a good message. Over time, it will register in your baby’s brain and when they can start speaking, they will start using the words you repeat to them in these stories
2. Introduce Basic Books
As your baby grows, their attention span and wake time will too. Spend a few mins during the day, when they are awake and attentive. You can use picture books, learning books and various interactive books to stimulate their senses.
3. Graduate Your Baby to a Wider Variety
When your baby gets old enough to touch and explore things around them, introduce the touch and feel books that have various textures in them. This is the right time for sound or musical books too.
Very soon you will realize that books become an integral part of your baby’s daily activities and they get happy when they see one of their favorite books.
Top 6 Types Of Books For Newborn To 1-Year-Old
There are many varieties of books you can introduce your baby to. However, will they all add value to your child? When it comes to books, it is advisable to introduce age-appropriate books.
Here are the top 6 types of books for newborn to 1 year old you can opt for.
1. Interactive Books
A baby’s senses develop a lot in the first 12 months of their lives. Their speech, vision, hearing, understanding of colors, and a lot more are constantly developing in the first year. Getting them books they can interact with will help develop these senses more effectively.
You can choose books with flaps that you can lift to reveal the hidden object or picture, books that will tell the name of the object in it, books with mirrors, peepholes, etc. Interactive learning is a very effective method of learning, which will not only be easy to grasp but can be very entertaining for little minds too.
2. Learning Books
The rate of learning is very high at this age. Your baby’s brain is fresh and absorbs everything like a sponge. Invest in learning books that can teach them not just letters or numbers but colours, concepts, animals, nature, etc. These are all important and can be taught to kids from a young age. Even if they don’t understand it now, they will learn very soon.
Try small board books with animals, objects, vegetables, fruits and a lot more. You can introduce your baby to many interesting concepts through such books and make learning very fun. You don’t have to wait for your child to start school to learn the name of common things around them.
3. Play A Sound Books
Some books will play a sound when you press the designated spot. For example, if it is a book on farm animals, pressing the cow picture or icon will make a “mooing” sound, similarly for other animals, a tractor, motor, water, etc. Such books can help your child understand different sounds. They can learn what sound comes from which source.
Many brands sell such books with different themes. These can help your child learn the sounds of various things more effectively. It can help improve their motor skills too as they will have to use their fingers and press hard on the required spot.
4. Touch And Feel Books
Babies love textures. They love to touch and explore their surroundings. Giving them books with different textures will introduce your baby to the textures. They can explore the textures in their own time and revisit them as and when they want. It can help improve their sense of touch.
Try finding books with bright colors and different textures. When you teach them the name of the picture or the texture on the page, they will learn the names and remember them easily. You can opt for hard-bound books as they will be easier for tiny fingers to handle.
5. Singing Books
These books are similar to play-a-sound books. These books can sing nursery rhymes and other children’s songs. This is a great way to teach some songs and music to your child without resorting to showing it on a screen.
As your baby grows up, you will catch them trying to sing along with the book. This can help their sense of hearing, speech and rhythm. It is a great book to help them learn to play by themselves too. As they grow up, they need to learn to play by themselves as you cannot occupy them every minute.
6. Push, Pull & Slide Books
These are books with flaps hiding images behind them. It requires you to push, pull or slide the tabs to reveal what is inside. These books are very entertaining, and babies love to find the missing things.
Initially, your baby will not know how to do such movements. As you read the book repeatedly, they will learn over time. They will start sliding, pushing or pulling on cue when you read. This is also a great way to teach them the movements and the words.
Reading to your baby is a great habit which paves the way to inculcate a reading habit in your child. They will not only learn new words, and phrases or identify images, but they will also learn a lot too as they grow up. They will start comprehending words, meanings, phrases etc, from a very young age.
FAQ’s
1. At What Age do Infants See Color?
A baby can start seeing colors from the age of 5 months or more. It is not black and white anymore. They can see and understand warm and bright colors around this age.
2. How Often Should You Read to Your Baby?
Try reading at least once a day to your baby. Even if they are young and don’t understand the words yet, they will pay close attention to the words, the sounds, your expressions, and the images in the book.
3. How Can Reading to my Newborn Help Them?
It can help them develop strong language and communication skills from a very young age. They will pick up words and languages faster with such exposures.
