“Mum, read me a story”

In this technology-driven world, curling up with your little one and a good book is increasingly rare. Some reasons you should make time for it and benefits it can have for you both are;
 
1. Bonding
Story time with your child on a regular basis, whether it’s each evening before bed or during the day, can help further strengthen your relationship with your child. The physical closeness of sitting together and hearing your voice with no distractions is hugely comforting to them. Many children look forward to this undivided attention as much as they enjoy the actual story. Reading together can also improve a child’s confidence as they are secure in their bond with you. 
 
2. Exploring emotions
Story books are an excellent way for your child to see how other people deal with new and challenging situations. Whether the plot covers positive or seemingly negative emotions, using a character to explore them opens up the communication lines with your child. Ask questions like “What do you think they are feeling? What do you think is going to happen next? How would you feel if…?” Books can be especially useful as a way of starting the conversation or dealing with situations such as starting school, moving house or a new sibling.
 
3. Boosting language, interest and curiosity
Even if a book doesn’t have many words, the images held within are fantastic for teaching children new terms and sounds. You may look at the same book time and time again and by describing the illustrations it can be a new experience every time. By prompting your child to tell you what they see in the picture, identify letters or numbers and by praising them, you will begin to build positive associations with reading.
 
4. Understanding real vs make-believe
From magical lands to outrageous beasties, books can open up a whole world of imagination for children. By identifying what they see around them in the real world and what appears on the pages of their books, your little one will become aware of what’s possible and be inspired to use their imagination. Encourage them to take the story further, draw their own pictures and even spot subplots or characters in the images for older children.
 
5. Improving listening and concentration
It’s no secret that people of all ages are experiencing reduced concentration. With our children growing up in times dominated by screen time and countless choices, this situation is unlikely to improve unless we take major steps at home. Setting up boundaries for screen time is essential. By sitting quietly with a book a child’s listening skills improve as well as their concentration and their ability to remember details. Ask them about characters, the story so far and descriptions to further boost their visual memory.
 
6. Learning other languages
Books are also a way to introduce second or even a third language to your child. Those aimed at younger children, with sing-song styles or rhyming, are a fun way to explore new words and vocabulary. Books set in different countries can also help children understand the wider world where a multitude of cultures can be explored and respected.
 
7. Social and communication skills
Sitting, listening, taking turns to choose a story all contribute to your child’s social skills development. As they grow older their concentration levels will improve and they will continue to thrive at school. Remember that by reducing screen time and increasing reading they will have a head start in their growing up years!

Exploring at my own pace

As parents it’s so easy to rush and push towards the next milestone, and walking is the big one, with mums and dads using it as a benchmark for so-called progress. However, every stage that our children go through is precious and critical, helping them develop in specific ways, and only when your baby’s nervous system is ready and operating at its full potential will they move on to the next activity.

By the time your baby is 12 months old, their brain will be 50% of its adult size, and it will continue to expand, with experiences and movements creating connections between nerve cells. You might not realise it, but the most simple (and fun!) activities can have brain-boosting capabilities.

Floor time and movement on the floor is essential for learning. Your little one must be able to spend up to 20 minutes of ‘tummy time’ per day from around 3 months old.

Why is it so important?

It strengthens your baby’s neck and shoulder muscles - as they will want to look up to see what’s happening around them. This will encourage your child to sit up, roll over and crawl earlier and this can prevent “positional Plagiocephaly”, which is flattening on the back of the head.

Between car seats and strollers, today’s babies spend most of their time on their backs or upright. You might find that your child initially resists floor time and persistence is key, building up from even just a few minutes.
To have the best of Tummy Time, position a favourite toy or child-proof mirror within their gaze and encourage them to reach for it.                            
Avoid tummy time shortly after eating to make sure it’s as enjoyable and comfortable for them as possible.

Building up strength

You might also see your baby push off the floor using their hands, which is the beginning of rolling over and crawling. It will assist in developing their will and determination to take action and complete a task. Their hands will become strengthened, assisting with holding a pencil when a little older.

Floor time also builds spatial awareness

Informing babies of their environment and helping them to build an internal map of their physical position in the world, such as next to a toy, on the rug, in the playpen, which helps with movement and navigation later on in life.

So what happens if your baby doesn’t get enough floor time?

Skipping the crawling stage can have a major impact later on. While this may appear inconsequential from a brain development angle, it can lead to challenges once your child reaches school age. By not crawling, their eye tracking can be compromised, and there might be less integration between left and right sides of the brain, which can inhibit fine motor skills such as tying shoe laces, cutting paper and doing up buttons.

How to get the most from floor time:

1. Do a little every day, building up the time to around 20 minutes.

2. To stimulate, regularly change the toys.

3. When they’re ready, offer a smooth space where your baby can try to move (leave hands and feet uncovered for grip).

4. Get down to their level. Eye contact and talking will help with bonding and model each other’s movements for fun.

5. Use this opportunity to safely stretch and massage your baby. Gently try cross-body movements to introduce the brain to patterns for crawling.

6. Floor time can be continued into childhood, with families interacting on the same level, playing, reading and discussing topics.