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What Are the Benefits of Reading to My Toddler?
Kids who hear a lot of language do better in school. And being read to is one of the best ways to hear language.

Reading to toddlers sets the foundation for later independent reading. Reading problems can be challenging to fix when discovered in elementary school. But many reading problems can be prevented if reading starts in the toddler and preschool years.

Before children can read by themselves, they need early literacy skills. These include:

having a large vocabulary of words and knowing how to use them
understanding that words are made up of smaller sounds (called phonemic awareness)
understanding that marks on a page represent letters and words
knowing the letters of the alphabet