Reading with your toddler

March 10, 2023

From the ages 1 to 4 your toddler will get more interested in books. Read with them as often as you can and praise them when they try to join in.

Your child’s QTVI will help you to decide on the best way for your child to learn to read. Your child may use large print, braille or a combination of the two.

When you read together, try to make the book come alive. You can do this if you:

talk about the pictures and what they can see
ask questions about the story
match pictures in the book to real objects
talk about how their life relates to the story
make a box of objects to feel when reading
act out activities in the book
From the ages 1 to 4 your toddler will get more interested in books
Read with them as often as you can and praise them when they try to join in

Games to help reading

You can also play games together that help your toddler learn to read. These include:

play with magnetic letters on your fridge
make letters from clay, stickle bricks or biscuit dough
spot letters and words around you
say letter sounds and talk about words that start with the same sound
make labels for objects around your home
put their name on their bedroom door
scribble and pretend to write
sing rhyming and alphabet songs
play games that include pretending to read or write
make your own books together
make tactile books – find out more from FamilyConnect

Choosing books for your toddler

Vision impaired toddlers may enjoy books that:

have large black type on a clear plain background
use rhyme and repetition, like We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, so that they can start to fill in the next word
make noises
they can listen to, such as CDs and audiobooks
they can interact with, for example on a tablet or laptop
relate to them in some way, for example, a story about a cat if you have a cat
have braille in them too, so that they can start to follow the Braille as you read aloud

Booktrust has a series of guides that can help you:

RSBC’s Families First Service can help you with:

practical advice about your child’s development
support when you feel overwhelmed
understanding your child’s vision impairment better
living as a family and being supportive of each other

Call 0203 1980225 or email connections@rsbc.org.uk

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