As your baby goes from being stationary to becoming more mobile and alert, reading aloud offers significant emotional benefits to your child.

• Reading gives your little crawler, cruiser, or walker an excuse to rest and cuddle at different points in the day. This can help your child come to regard reading as a way to self-soothing or get some down-time, which can be extremely helpful as your child approaches those busy toddler years.
• Books help establish a reading ritual before naptime or bedtime.

Photos © Anne Lise Norheim