Reading Cures All

I had a rare moment alone today and was thinking of a single piece of advice I could share that has to do with education at a young age. There are just so many things that I believe in, whether it be letting your baby get dirty or daily outside time or letting them make mistakes. But it all comes down to communication for me. Children, especially before or when they're learning to speak, struggle to express themselves. And I think the best thing we can do to prevent tantrums, foster their language, and help them understand their world is reading. ​

Toddlers are emotional beings. Holy hell, Lincoln has hit a stage in his life where everything is a tragedy or he's bursting at the seams with happy energy. Nothing can stop him. But I've found that when he's on a downward spiral toward terrible tantrum, I can speak with him at his level and talk him off the ledge. Of course, this isn't a fool proof method, but I do believe that because I've read to him his entire life, he''s able to express himself better. He understands context of what happy is and feels like and what makes him sad or frustrated.

Here's a perfect example...we've read "How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You" about a dozen times a day for the past two weeks. He's pretty obsessed lately. This book sort of describes bad things dinosaurs do but the mommy and daddy love them no matter what. It's cute. Long story short, Lincoln was upset that I didn't understand what he was saying in relation to his truck. He was making a sound but I couldn't figure out what he meant. So he threw himself to the floor and kicked and I could see tears starting and full on melt down mode beginning, but instead I said "Mama loves you. Help me. Tell me how I can help." And it was pretty instant that his face changed and he signed help and pointed to the truck that was apparently giving him issues. I swear that the line from the story and underlying message is what helped us come out of his breakdown without it escalating. ​​He was able to understand that it's okay to be frustrated but that he can trust me and I'll always love him. That reassurance is sometimes all it takes.

Also, tantrums are totally like talking a person off a ledge. My adrenaline goes crazy when Lincoln starts heading in that direction. Can I diffuse the bomb or not? Is this going to be a quick episode or am I in for 20 minutes of screaming torture? Toddlerhood is fun, huh?

Anyway, reading triggers parts of the brain for language and connection as well. I was reading an article about how reading to a child before formal education (babies, toddlers, preschoolers, basically anyone pre-kindergarten) actually boosts brain activity and improves reading in the future. (LINK) We all want what is best for our children and if something so simple as reading to your babies can help them later in life, wouldn't you make that a priority?

Let's take science and brain activity and all of that out of the question (because, honestly, I don't have time to do more research. Thanks 2U2 for awarding me no free time). There's something special when your toddler grabs a book off the shelf, runs to you, plops on your lap, and demands to be read to. Or when your infant, laying beside you, kicks to get to the squishy page of a wrinkly touch-feel book. 

The bonding and quality one-on-one time that reading with your littles provides is priceless. If you do nothing else structured in a day, reading before bedtime is the thing to prioritize. Not only does it prepare for bed and calm them down, but it gives kids a time of the day when they know your attention is all for them. I like to do bedtime separately for my kids for just this reason. A half hour or so, they each get with me alone to set them up for a successful night. 

​Lincoln's favorite part of the day is reading times. He's actually been asking to read more and more throughout the day as he's gotten older. Often, he'll sign book when he wakes from his nap and want to read a couple books. I think it's soothing to him. I also think he likes being in control of what books we read. He gets his choice, always. His language has recently hit a burst and I find him saying words he's only been exposed to in books like "tree bark" "polka dots" "tick tock" "octopus" and more. As my son gets older and his language matures and strengthens, more and more I'm reminded of how amazing reading can be for a little person.