Our tips for sharing stories with your toddler

Stories open up a whole new world for toddlers – along with firing up their ideas and imagination, sharing books with them can support development across many areas.  

Focus on pictures and illustrations 

At this stage, your toddler may begin to show an interest in the pictures in their favourite story books.  

Take time to talk together about what you can see, and let them share with you what they like, dislike and notice about these images.  

After a while, your toddler will begin to make connections between the words that you read from the story, and the pictures that they see.  

Repeat, repeat, repeat 

Repetition is a key aspect of learning about the structure of stories, and also key words and phrases. 

You might notice that some of your toddler’s favourites have repeated phrases and they may even join in with these as they become more familiar with them. You'll likely find yourself reading the same books over and over or repeating your toddler’s favourite parts of stories. Go with it – they won't get bored! 

Snuggle up 

Sit close together when you share stories so that your toddler can see the pictures and words on the page.  

Encourage them to take part by holding the book and turning pages – this is also a lovely bonding experience for you both.  

Have fun! 

Make story time even more fun by using different silly voices for characters, involving puppets and making actions! Your toddler is more likely to enjoy the story and really engage in what is happening.