My daughter just turned one last month and is finally expressing interest in her board books! Before her first birthday, I would try to encourage her to read with me and even her big brother but she was just not having it.
Now, all of the sudden, she sees a book and lights up! As a book lover myself, her newfound interest in books has made me so happy. So, naturally, I am eager to now teach her how to turn the pages to keep her engaged in a book.
Each night before bed, I read a couple of books with her. While I’m on a page, I will prop the next page up with my finger as soon when I’m done reading the current page. This prompts her to grab the page and turn it herself. When she successfully completes the action, I say “turn the page.”
I repeated this several times for a few nights and now she understands completely. As soon as I lift the page up, she’s already grabbing for it. If I say “turn the page” without lifting the page up for her, she’s still grabbing for it. Now she will even grab a book by herself and practice turning the pages on her own. Sometimes she turns one page, sometimes several all at once, and other times she closes the whole book on accident!
The exciting (and important) part is she is learning and working on a brand new skill. What age did your kiddo(s) start taking more of an interest in books?