Why Do Toddlers Like to Read the Same Books Over and Over Again?

by Jana Murphy, author of
The Secret Lives of Toddlers

How many ways can most parents of toddlers read Green Eggs and Ham? We can read it in a boat. We can read it with a goat. We can read it in the rain, and in the dark, and on a train. We can even read it without peeking at the pages--because we’ve recited it dozens of times to our delighted toddlers, and we know it by heart.

Every mom loves to see her child take an early interest in books, and every dad envisions a future full scholarship when his first-born comes squirming onto his lap saying “Read, Daddy.” But when parents discover that most toddlers immediately follow “The End” with “Again!” they begin to wonder if one can really build a scholarship-quality mind on a steady diet of Is Your Mama a Llama?, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and Goodnight, Moon.

It turns out, most early literacy experts agree, that you can. Toddlers love to hear the same books over and over for very good reasons--both personal and developmental, explains Dr. Lisabeth DiLalla, a development psychologist at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Carbondale and director of SIU’s Infant and Toddler Play Lab.

“Reading to your child is one of the most important things you can do to help her develop to her highest potential,” Dr. DiLalla explains. “Reading at all to your child does several critical things: It ensures a special time between the parent and child, it teaches children about the sequencing of events--that stories have a beginning, middle and end—and it shows children that they can enjoy books.” And though the research is not definitive, reading to your toddler may well help him to learn to read earlier as well.

Reading the same books again and again has even more benefits for toddlers than more books less often. Since the world of books is very new to pre-preschool set, re-reading gives them a chance to familiarize themselves with how stories are told, to learn all the words in a particular book (but only one or two new ones on each pass through it!), and to start making connections between the illustrations they see and the story they hear at the same time.

Those connections all take time to make, explains Dr. Mary Hynes-Berry, a professor at the Erikson Institute for Early Childhood in Chicago, Illinois and professional storyteller, and that’s where re-reading comes in. At just about the time that you are sick and tired of reading a particular book, chances are your toddler is just starting to feel confident with it. He’s getting to the point where he can anticipate what’s going to be on the next page, and sometimes even know the next word. “You can feel and see the anticipation building in a toddler who knows a favorite page is coming up next,” Dr. Hynes-Berry smiles, “There’s great satisfaction for them in knowing that something is coming and that they ‘get it.’ It’s a huge confidence builder.”

Now That You Understand...

Read it again, and again. Though you may feel a bit like escaping to the jungles of your own room after reading Where the Where the Wild Things Are for the third time on any given day, indulge your toddler in reading it one more time. The long term paybacks can be enormous. Study after study has shown that kids whose parents regularly make time to read with them in the first three years of their lives do better in school than those who haven’t been read to. As Dr. DiLalla explains, “Not all children who are read to will get all A’s in school, but reading to your toddler will certainly help her to do the best she can.” In fact, research has found that the amount of experience kindergarteners have with books in their preschool years is the best predictor of their reading comprehension all the way through elementary school.

Stop and talk about the flowers, the monsters, and the teddy bears. As long as you’re going to be reading Are You My Mother? ad nauseum, you might as well get the most bang for your buck. Talking with your child while you read--whether you’re asking him questions or pointing out pictures--is the best way to help him learn how to think about what he hears and sees in books. “You can start with pointing out specific objects or asking your child ‘what color?’ or ‘how many?’” says Dr. Hynes-Berry. “And as your child learns to participate, you can ask them questions that let them make inferences, like ‘How do you think that boy feels?’ and ‘What makes you think that?’”

“Expert readers are always interacting with the text,” she explains, “and talking about what you are reading with your toddler is a wonderful way to develop his ability to comprehend the written word.”

Make it fun. It’s not too hard with material like Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? to make reading fun for toddlers. They love your voice, they love to play with you, and they love to have your undivided attention. If you can engage children in reading in a way that makes it fun for them--for example by changing your voice for different characters; encouraging your toddler to huff and puff like the big, bad wolf; or throwing a red dish towel over your head when you’re channeling Little Red Riding Hood--then they’ll learn the most important lesson about reading that you can offer--they’ll learn to want to do it themselves.

***********

What does your toddler do that mystifies, frustrates, or delights you? Here's your chance to check out other parents' stories, and share your own experiences of some of your child's "wonderful, terrible, fascinating" behavior. Click here to go to our "Parents Respond!" page.

For more information about toddler behavior, check out the newly released book The Secret Lives of Toddlers: A Parent’s Guide to the Wonderful, Terrible, Fascinating Behavior of Children Ages 1 to 3, by Jana Murphy. With the help of over 30 pediatricians, child development experts, nutritionists, and sleep specialists, Jana’s book explains the reasons behind 52 common toddler behaviors and offers tips on how parents can make the most of the positive, downplay the awful, and enjoy this stage of parenting.

***********

To see other Jana Murphy's other columns, click here.

To contact Jana Murphy, email her at janamurphy@pplplc1.com.