Benefits of Reading Aloud to your 6-Month-Old

There’s a lot happening in your little one’s brain at every age and stage. Because of all that’s happening, simple acts like reading aloud have many benefits for your baby. That’s why Raising Readers’ committee of clinicians and early literacy experts takes special care to choose the perfect books for each age group before they make their way into your home libraries.

In this series, one of those experts, Kathryn Landon-Malone, PhD and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, shares what’s happening at each given age and why reading aloud to your little one helps foster their growth and development.

Six-month-olds are smiley, giggly and delightful. They busily explore within reaching and rolling distance. They transfer objects hand-to-hand and taste things to discover what is edible and what is not. The new skill of Object permanence, knowing things exist when out of sight, makes games like peek-a-boo great fun. They sit with or without support allowing hands to hold a board book and even turn a page. Books with flaps help hone this skill. They love books with mirrors, different textures to touch, pictures of babies and animals, and fascinating shapes like letters and numbers.

Here are some tips to help your baby connect with books when they’re 6 months old:

• As you form mealtime, bedtime, and naptime patterns, try making book sharing part of these budding routines. Raising Readers often chooses books for this age showing patterns of eating and sleeping for this reason.
• Snuggle with your little one before bed while sharing a book. This connects reading with love and helps your baby learn to love books and reading.
• We choose board books that hold up to drool, mouthing, and wet hands. So let your baby explore these books with their mouths and hands— putting the book in their mouth, which shows their desire to explore the book further.

Want to learn more about the benefits of reading aloud? See more of what’s happening and explore all the doctor-approved books we’ve given to 4 month-olds over the years on our website