Infants and Toddlers (Ages birth to 2-years-old)

Children must interact with grown-ups. Songs, rhymes and lullabies help introduce your child to language and vocabulary development.
One of your goals as a parent of an infant or toddler is to surround your child with talk. This exposure happens naturally when you're singing a song or lullaby, reading a story, or just responding to your baby's coos, laughs, and cries.

Goals:

Your infant/toddler should:

  • Communicate first with gestures and expressions, then with simple sounds and words.
  • Enjoy listening to stories, songs, and rhymes and playing language games.
  • Learn to talk and respond to others for the pleasure of interaction.
  • Love repetition or hearing the same sounds and stories over and over.
  • Start using language to explain what she wants, ask questions, and express her feelings and ideas.

Tips, Activities and Strategies

  • Talk to your child constantly.
  • Teach your children songs and poems.
  • Model language structure.
  • Limit television-viewing time.
  • Use board puzzles with letters.
  • Every day read stories out loud, sing songs, play language games.
  • Create a reading ritual. Decide on a time and make it an enjoyable experience.
  • Read books more than once.
  • Read with enthusiasm and drama.
  • Explain unfamiliar words.
  • Point to the words as you read,
  • Read road signs, cereal boxes, candy wrappers, or fast food signs together.

What to look for when choosing books for your child

  • Look for child-friendly books.
  • Bright and colorful pictures.
  • Three-dimensional books that features that invite participation (movable parts, pop-up books, die-cut books, touch and feel pop up books, felt board, sounds etc.)
  • Rhythmic words.
  • Sturdy pages made of cardboard, plastic, or washable cloth.
  • Right size and shape for your child to handle.

Recommended Reading for Infants to Age 2

  1. The Wide-Mouthed Frog: A Pop Up Book by Keith Faulkner
  2. Hug by Jez Alborough
  3. Max's Bedtime by Rosemary Wells
  4. The Pop-Up Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae
  5. Shanna's Princess Show by Jean Marzollo
  6. Counting Kisses by Karen Katz
  7. When Mama Comes Home Tonight by Eileen Sinelli
  8. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.
  9. Duck Is Dirty by Satoshi Kitamura
  10. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  11. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback
  12. Go Dog Go by Dr. Suess
  13. 10 Apples on Top by Dr. Suess
  14. Snoozers by Sandra Boynton
  15. Baby Dance by Ann Taylor
  16. Time for Bed by Mem Fox
  17. The Adventures of Max the Minnow by William Boniface
  18. Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley
  19. No, David! by David Shannon
  20. Little White Duck by Walt Whippo