The toddler years are some of the most exciting for parents. Your child is constantly curious, active, and intensely engaged in exploring everything around them. 

This is therefore an opportune time to include picture books as a nursery item essential for your child! You can find them pretty easily in baby shops or even online baby stores!

Below, let’s take a look at the benefits of introducing picture books to your toddler.

Expands vocabulary

A picture book contains both pictures and words, helping your child associate words with images. This helps to expand your child’s vocabulary and enables them to associate words with everyday life -- especially when the story is read repeatedly. 

In addition, the rhythm and rhyme used in these books are simple and fun to read aloud, allowing your child to have fun while learning. Picture books come in different languages too, making it a great way to teach your child other languages from a young age!

Improves visual thinking skills

Picture books give your child visual clues to help them understand and discover concepts better. By connecting the images to the words, they’re able to visualise what a red car means, or what a green bush looks like. 

Also, by reading to your child, you can help them understand the narrative of the book, which increases your child’s comprehension, imagination, and creativity.

Introduces reading in a fun way 

Picture books are a great way to spark a love of reading in your toddler. 

For them, looking at colourful graphics are fun and exciting, especially when they’re just learning new words. Once reading becomes a fun and positive experience for them, they can easily progress to chaptered books. 

You’ll know kids enjoy reading time when they ask you to read the same story over and over again. So to entice them to love books, let them choose books they’re interested in and read them together as often as you can!

Encourages conversation

Reading to your toddler is also a good opportunity to build on conversation skills by discussing the story with them -- what happened in the story, how it happened, and who was involved. 

It also builds on other skills such as counting or naming colours out loud. All these, in turn, will help them advance in school.

Provides a great bonding opportunity

Reading not only shapes your child’s mind, it also offers a great way for the both of you to spend quality time. To children, a parent’s voice is familiar and comforting. 

You can also use this to establish a calming and consistent nighttime routine by reading to them right after they’re tucked into bed.

Boosts social-emotional development

Some picture books may explore real-life issues we encounter in the real world such as the art of sharing, making new friends, even taking risks. Others may even highlight cultural differences and acceptance. 

These are difficult topics to discuss with young children, but picture books can help simplify them through simplified language and captivating drawings. 

Plus, you allow them to be exposed to kind, gentle, and encouraging behaviour at a young age, making them more open-minded to these topics as they get older.