1. I said one word instead of reading the whole sentence.

I used to read every word on the page: “The cow lives on the farm and says moo.” He’d sit for a page, maybe two, and I couldn’t tell if any of it was going in.

So I stopped reading the sentence. I pointed at the cow and said “cow.”

To a toddler, a sentence is a long string of sounds, and he can’t tell which one goes with the cow. One word, said while I point at the picture, makes it obvious.

2. I named whatever he was looking at.

I used to point at the main picture, because that was the word I wanted him to learn. But half the time he was looking at the little duck in the corner.

Now I watch where his eyes are and name that. If he’s looking at the duck, I say “duck,” even if the page is about the cow.

There’s research behind this. In a 1986 study, toddlers learned new words better when the adult named what they were already looking at than when the adult tried to get them to look at something else. If he’s already looking at it, I don’t have to fight for his attention.

3. I let him find things himself.

Even with one word, I was still doing all the work. I’d point, I’d say the word, and he’d watch.

So I turned it around. I’d ask “Where’s the dog?” and wait for him to find it and point. Then I’d say “dog.”

When he finds it, the word goes with something he did, not something he watched me do. He liked it more, too. It turned each page into a little game. If he couldn’t find it, I’d show him and move on. No pressure.

4. I waited after every word.

I used to say “Look, what’s that? It’s a dog!” without a breath in between. He never had a chance to say anything.

Now I say the word once, then stop and wait about five seconds before I turn the page. I just look at him and wait.

Most of the time he just looks back at me, and that’s fine. But every so often he makes a sound back. He’d never have had room to do that if I kept talking.

5. I switched to lift-the-flap books.

Even with everything above, a normal book only gives him a picture to look at. “Run” is just a word next to a drawing of a zebra.

The Peek & Learn books are different. Every page has a flap, pull tab or slider, and moving it makes something happen. He peels the banana. He kicks the ball. He pulls a tab and the zebra runs.

As he does it, I say the word: “peel,” “kick,” “run.” Then I wait.Here’s why that matters. A toddler learns what a word means by seeing it happen while he hears it. A still picture can’t show him what “run” or “peel” means. When he pulls the tab and the zebra runs as I say “run,” he can see exactly what the word means. He remembers it better too, because he made it happen himself.

Ten books, ten topics, thick board pages. We do 5–10 minutes before bed, and now he’s the one bringing the books to me.

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