There are a number of reasons why reading is good for babies during pregnancy. In fact, even upon conception, the fetus itself has already begun a learning process. This continues until the baby has fully developed in the womb and is ready to make their introduction to the world. For you, as the mother expecting this bundle of joy, you have a golden opportunity to develop an even stronger bond with your baby by simply reading out loud whatever you’re reading. Even from the womb, your baby can hear what you hear. Whenever you talk, the baby learns to recognize your voice. Even whatever you listen to as music, your baby will absorb what’s being heard through you. Instinctively, they automatically respond to everything you come across and how you react to it. That’s why docs stress the importance of keeping yourself as healthy as possible, from head to toe, inside and out. This includes staying away from alcohol and other potential hazards that will hinder the optimal development of your baby by the time it’s born.
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Reading Time
Among the children who’ve grown up in a household where parents routinely engaged with them in storytime, they’ve demonstrated to be the happiest and healthiest. Their parents are also more likely to share inspiring stories of a tight-knit family, often sharing details that reading time helped build its solid foundation. The main benefit of reading boils down to parents and their children spending quality time with each other in a creative environment that shuts the troubles of the world out, even if it’s for just a few short minutes. These benefits seem amplified even further when parents take the initiative to read to their babies while still in the mother’s womb. Whether you’re reading aloud from an actual book held in your hands or something off a digital screen, your baby hears what you’re saying. This is also the case whenever you’re engaged in conversation, even as you address only yourself.
The childhood benefits of reading lead children to become adults loaded with so much more promise than the kids who’ve gone without. With their minds opened up as they hear their favorite stories, this sparks their imagination to perhaps come up with stories of their own. Regardless if they become storytellers themselves or not, these children develop a set of skills that will serve them well. In the meantime, their self-confidence level will rise up, as well as their ability to understand and communicate in a world that seems too complicated for its own good. Case in point, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization observed an overwhelming majority of children aged between six to fourteen years old don’t even possess a minimum proficiency level when it comes to reading, writing, and problem-solving skills. All of these tie into improved social skills, as well as a better knowledge base that will be essential for your child as they ideally grow to become responsible adults.
Reading During Pregnancy
Although it may sound too soon for some, the moment you realize you have a baby on the way to growing inside the womb, get into the practice of reading out loud. Ideally, read uplifting material that’s bound to put you in a good mood. If you’re into reading biblical material as a practitioner of a specific faith system, I highly encourage going full throttle with that. One parental couple I know of who practices Christianity read their copy of the Holy Bible throughout the duration of the mother’s pregnancy with their firstborn. Interestingly enough, as the baby continued to grow in her womb, each time she picked up the book and started to read, the baby apparently went into some kind of celebratory dance. This same thing also occurred with a Jewish couple I knew of who read the Torah.
Even among parents who are not bible believers, there are some really good books and material they can read out loud to their baby before its birthdate. Classic fairytales are fantastic, as well as any kind of material that has a positive outlook on life. I’ve even known of a mother who was heavy-duty in geography. She read to her baby a bunch of articles from National Geographic, and various travel magazines, as well as interesting tidbits from encyclopedias. There was also one mother in particular who read how-to magazines as she was a journeyman carpenter who had a thing for home renovations. Probably the most memorable of all was learning about an expecting mother who read out loud and learned the lyrics to a bunch of celebratory-style songs throughout her entire pregnancy. Whenever those songs were actually played, the baby evidently seemed to dance as soon as the mother began to sing along.
Hearing stories like these often serve as encouragement for expecting parents to read to their babies while still in the womb. It’s really during this time period your unborn child will absorb a form of nourishment that will make a huge impact. Going into a world that seems so unstable, your newborn already has an edge over other babies who haven’t been read to by their mothers at all. As soon as your baby is born, don’t stop reading to them. Keep at it as this really goes a long way when it comes to the long-term benefits of your child’s development.
Baby Reading Science
According to science, the baby can hear sounds outside your body by the time you’ve gone into the sixth month of your pregnancy. By the time they reach full-term, they’ll be able to hear everything as well as you do. Normally, the benefits of reading to your baby during this time frame have proven to be the most effective. However, there is no such thing as too early. By the sixth month of your pregnancy, your baby has become familiar with the sounds of the womb. Those sounds include your digestive sounds, heartbeat, and how your blood flow responds according to the moods you experience. Reading positive material designed to lift your spirits will be something your baby will feel. Furthermore, as you read out loud, the vibration from your vocal cords at work is something your baby will feel as well. When reading with joy, the baby feels this. By the time your pregnancy reaches full term, your baby has already reached an understanding level that will serve to your advantage as they become newborns.
Science has shown babies that have been read to while still in the womb develop were able to develop their language skills quicker and more easily than babies who never experienced this. Among small children who’ve been read to as babies and continue reading with their parents, they also have a better understanding when it comes to different words. For the mother that’s expecting, science has also observed they experience less maternal stress. When the pregnancy reaches the final stages of its term, the unborn child responds favorably to the sound of their mother when she speaks with a calming voice. This is especially evident when it comes to reading. Instead of a few short words, it’s a full story.
Among well-known child prodigies that have stood out so prominently, they tend to share the same starting point for their own stories. Each of them was read to while they had yet to be born into the world. Cellist Pablo Casals is one such example as he was able to read music at a level that seemed somewhat prophetic by nature. While inside the womb, an unborn baby is able to discern the differences in neuron signals that would define how the different letters in the alphabet were pronounced. Whichever words were used most frequently often triggered the strongest response as soon as the baby would hear it.
Best Baby Books to Read
Ideally, you want positive, uplifting books to read to your unborn child. What you regard as positive is up to you. Not everybody has the same taste in everything. However, books emphasizing love, family values, and socially beneficial material are the best subjects you can cover that your baby will respond to with favor. If you love reading the news, make sure it’s the kind of material that’s uplifting. Maybe your favorite sports team managed to beat their rival in a well-played game and you want to read all about it to your baby. It’s perfectly fine to do that. The baby, even near the beginning of the pregnancy, will feel your enthusiasm and will respond to it. Going into the sixth month of your pregnancy, your baby will be able to hear it in your voice.
It is definitely encouraged to favor baby books as the material of choice you can read out loud to your baby. One of the most popular baby books comes from the author, Amelia Hepworth. I Love You to the Moon and Back is technically a picture book but this doesn’t mean you can’t read it to your unborn child while they’re still in your womb. One of the best features behind this book is the freedom to personalize how you read this story to your baby. This is a book all about the loving bond that exists between a mother and her child. This became an international bestseller that continues to win over the favor of parents ever since it was first published in 2015. This is a great book to start with as you read to your baby during pregnancy. It’s also a great book for you and your newborn to read together as they will get to see what it was you’re reading with their own eyes.
Why Reading is Good for Babies During Pregnancy article published on BabyCareGuru.com© 2023
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