Can Babies Enjoy Reading?

My mother has always encouraged me to read when I was young, as far back as I can remember. I thought I would do the same with my baby, which meant starting right from the start - when baby was still inside my womb.

Hubby and I took turns reading to baby night after night. At first, hubby wasn't used to reading to baby (even more so a non-visible baby), and felt strange, but he adapted quickly. We thought if baby did not understand, at least she could enjoy the sound of our voices.

After baby was born, I started reading to her nightly since she was 3 months old and could be propped up to a sitting position. I introduced her to cloth books like Fuzzy Bee and Friends, and also picture books by Eric Carle and other books given by friends. The bright colors captured her attention. Interestingly, she showed preference on certain pictures or books from that young age. There was a picture of a bee, that she would giggle every time she saw it.

By 4 months old, she would shout loudly or smile when we got to her favorite page in a certain favorite book. People observing would comment 'that's her favorite book hor?'.

As she got older, she learnt how to kiss a.k.a. 'sayang'. No one told her to, but she started giving her favorite pictures kisses :)

Now at 11 months, we still enjoy reading together.

Some people (including myself) wondered, does the baby really UNDERSTAND? Well, maybe not everything, but one can still enjoy something without understanding :) Understanding will come. In my baby's case, as she learnt to recognise things around her - cat, bird, socks, ducky, hanky, flowers, etc, she started to pay rapt attention to those pictures in the books. I can practically see the light bulb turning on in her head - "Oh, so all these things that I see in the pictures are also around me!" I do not doubt she has learnt a lot through reading.

Most importantly, she really ENJOYS it. I don't have to make her read books, she wants to. How do I know? Whenever she sees me take her books out, she will stop crying if she was crying for whatever reason; sometimes she will shout happily; sometimes she will laugh.

It's a special time for daddy or mummy to snuggle with baby on the couch. It has become a naptime and bedtime ritual, to read her books before she goes to bed. We all enjoy it :)

At 4 months old