Reading to your baby, month by month

0–6 months: your voice is the book

Newborn vision favours high contrast and faces, so black-and-white board books and simple bold shapes hold attention longest. But the content matters less than the rhythm of your voice — reading the newspaper aloud would do nearly as much at this stage.

6–12 months: books as objects

Grabbing, mouthing and slamming the book shut are participation, not disinterest. Sturdy board books, touch-and-feel pages and lift-the-flaps give hands something to do while ears do the learning.

Expect to read four pages instead of twelve. Stopping when interest ends keeps books a pleasure rather than a task.

12–24 months: naming and repetition

This is the point-and-name age. Books with one clear object per page invite your toddler to label things, and asking "where is the dog?" turns reading into conversation.

Requesting the same book nightly for weeks is normal and useful — repetition is how the words get learned.

• •Rhyme and repetition over plot
• •Books about daily routines: meals, bath, bedtime
• •Let them turn the pages, even out of order

Making it a habit

A few minutes attached to something that already happens every day — after the bath, before the nap — sticks far better than a longer session you have to remember to schedule. Public libraries are the cheapest way to keep the shelf rotating, and most run free baby story times.