Stomp your feet, clap your hands

Annie Youngblood

ENHE Board Member

As of last summer, I became a mom. And now, reading has SUCH a different meaning. Our almost 7-month-old can't yet understand the words of Pout Pout Fish and definitely doesn't sing along to The Barnyard Dance ... and yet, we still read to her every single day.

We explain to her what she sees on the page, we point out the fish or the cow or the horse. We give her kisses in the part of the book that mentions smooches, we describe the colors and the scenes, and we make sure she knows how funny it is when he moms let out a loud "cockadoodle dooo."

At first we felt silly. Roux wasn't paying attention and desperately wanted chew on the corners of her brand new board books. Now, we realize these books are exposing her to things we never could -- underwater adventures, early mornings on a farm, and the antics of a silly monkey. She still tries to wiggle out of our arms, but more and more she is focusing on what's in front of her. She is laughing at certain pages (I have no idea what's so funny). She touches (and sometimes licks) the images on the page. She looks up at us with a curiosity in her eyes when we use silly accents.

We're learning a lot about being moms. But I think one of the most important lessons so far is just how important it is to be consistent ... because even when you don't think they're paying attention, they are.