Cardboard books, often called board books, offer a range of developmental and practical benefits for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. As a professional children’s cardboard book printing supplier, I’m going to walk you through why board books should be part of every young child’s library.
Why Cardboard Books are Ideal for Young Readers
Board books are designed specifically with babies and toddlers in mind. Their thick, sturdy pages are perfect for little hands that are still developing fine motor control. Babies and toddlers learn by touching, grasping, mouthing and manipulating objects. And board books are made to withstand this kind of exploration.
In contrast, regular paperback and hardcover books have pages too delicate for this kind of handling. Their paper pages tear easily when toddlers flex them, leaving parents to hastily tape back together a beloved bedtime story.
Board books solve this problem with their nearly indestructible cardboard pages. Babies and toddlers can freely turn, bend, grab and even chew the pages of board books without damaging them. This allows them to interact with books without restrictions, laying a strong foundation for early literacy skills.
6 Key Benefits of Cardboard Books for Children
1. Establish a Lifelong Love of Reading
Reading board books together builds in babies and toddlers a positive association between books and special one-on-one time with loved ones.
As a reading specialist, I constantly witness young children who struggle to sit still and focus on reading. Often, this resistance can be traced back to lack of exposure to reading during the critical developmental window of ages 0 to 3 years.
Reading board books together in infancy and toddlerhood sets children up for reading success later on. It teaches them books are sources of comfort, joy and connection.
2. Grow Early Literacy Skills
Babies begin soaking up language from the moment they’re born. Reading board books together exposes babies and toddlers to new vocabulary, proper grammar and language patterns and the basic mechanics of books.
As you read a board book, you can trace your finger under the words as you read them aloud. This demonstrates text directionality, laying groundwork for skills like tracking print and sound and letter awareness.
Board books specifically designed around concepts like colors, shapes, numbers and opposites also introduce important pre-reading skills. As babies grow into toddlers, choose board books with an increasing amount of text to grow their comprehension abilities.
3. Develop Listening and Memory
The repetitive language in many board books improves listening and memory in babies and toddlers. As you read the same book night after night, children become familiar with vocabulary, language patterns and storyline. They then memorize and anticipate what comes next.
This repetition primes young minds for skills like prediction, visualization and summarization that emerge later as more advanced reading skills.
4. Enhance Visual Focus
Young children learn best when they can see, hear, touch and manipulate concepts. Board books capitalize on babies’ natural visual curiosity using bright colors, contrasts, familiar objects and faces. This captures their gaze and teaches them to visually focus.
As language comprehension grows, toddlers can then connect images on the page with words you read aloud. This visualization further cements vocabulary and story concepts.
5. Improve Fine Motor Control
Grasping, turning and manipulating board book pages engages babies’ and toddlers’ rapidly developing fine motor skills. The act of turning pages from front to back teaches hand and finger control, visual tracking and directional movement.
This grounds important pre-writing foundations that prepare tiny hands for future tasks like properly holding a crayon or pencil.
6. Grow Parent-Child Bonds
Cuddling up together with a beloved board book builds security and attachment between caregiver and child. The rhythm of reading aloud soothes babies and invites calming physical contact. Toddlers find reassurance and validation when you empathize with characters and situations in the story.
These shared experiences foster communication, empathy and relational bonds during reading sessions. They also model positive reading habits children then carry forward independently.
Get Started with Cardboard Book Reading Today!
Cardboard book reading time presents countless developmental benefits for your baby and quality bonding moments for you both as well. These durable books truly set little ones up for success with early literacy skills, creativity, fine motor abilities and self-regulation.
Plus they foster a budding passion for learning new things between pages and positive associations with reading. So cozy into your favorite rocking chair, settle your little one on your lap and enjoy exploring the colorful world of cardboard books together. Their sense of wonder – and your special bonds – will grow with every turned page!