Benefits of Reading Aloud to your 9-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.

Nine-month-olds are becoming masters of their surroundings. They scoot, crawl, and pull to standing. They examine everything, bang, drop things on purpose, and speedily move to the next. Too, they delicately grasp and pick up objects with thumb and pointer finger, turn pages in books, lift flaps, and sometimes tear pages. Raising Readers meets the challenge by providing sturdy board books.

Here are some tips to help your baby connect with books when they’re 9 months old:

• Your baby now follows a point. When sharing books, point to objects, words, letters, and numbers, and name them.
• Your little one is beginning to understand many words, and they start to have some of their own like, “Mama” and “Dada.”  They want those favorite people around and become upset when parents leave the room making naps and bedtimes more challenging. Snuggling and sharing a book at bedtime is calming and helps a baby feel safe and loved.
• Try regularly reading before bed. This can help busy 9-month-olds know what is coming and settle to sleep easier.

Want to learn more? See more of what’s happening and explore all the doctor-approved books we’ve given to 2 month-olds over the years on our website